Supreme Reflections: Volume 3
by MarvelMaster616
Summary: A series of short character vignettes that takes place within the pages of X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope. It covers Gambit, Nightcrawler, Havok, and President Robert Kelly. See each character reflect on the events of their lives.
1. Remy Lebeau

**Supreme Reflections  
Volume 3**

**AN: This story is yet another collection of short vignettes for a number of characters during specific points in Volume 3. If you haven't read Volume 3 already, I suggest you do because I'll be citing some of the events. Many are simple character musings that should fill in some of the blanks left by their respective stories in the X-men Supreme mythos thus far. Think of these as one-shot specials similar to those that make it onto comic stands once in a while. As such, their contents are in continuity and I'll reference wherever and whenever these scenes take place. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-men or any of the characters and make no money from this. They are the property of Marvel and Disney. Please don't sue.**

'_These mean character thoughts or psychic communication.'_

_This indicates a shift to first person._

**As always, I encourage everybody who reads this series to review. Feedback is the driving force that makes X-men Supreme great. I am grateful for the support I've received thus far and I encourage everyone to tell me what they think. Don't be shy! Please post your comments on the website or send me your feedback****. Thank you and enjoy!**

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**Remy's Reflections (AN: Takes place shortly after issue 55)**

_At some point in every homme's life, they become a thief. Ain't no way around it. Ain't nothing to be ashamed of either. Some folks become bigger thieves than others. Most go through their lives doin' only the petty stuff. They steal things like time, attention, energy, and what not. It ain't like they want to. It's part of life. Go down to the level of pond scum and you got every little creature tryin' to steal their own brand of loot so they can survive. Even if we don't steal from each other, we steal from the environment or the authorizes we put in charge to protect us. That don't mean it's a one way street. These things all steal from us too. _

_That don't mean that nobody's got any good in their hearts. That don't even mean there ain't room for charity. That only means that what we end up stealing has certain meaning. That there meaning be what Remy's struggled with all his life._

It was late in the day and classes had ended. Most of the team were already off doing their own thing. Some liked to throw in some extra training while others chose to relax. Remy Lebeau did neither. He was the only one still lounging around in the library going over his class work. Most students would call that kind of behavior grade grubbing, but Remy wasn't most students. His circumstances had always been unique and for that reason he was the last person anyone would expect to spend extra time studying.

Not long ago Remy could never have imagined himself sitting at a table with no fewer than six textbooks in front of him. In fact, he probably would have been discouraged from reading because it distracted him from being a thief. That's what he was supposedly meant to do. That's what he had trained for all his life. A lot of that had changed and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He needed to change. He had this problem that few other thieves ever dealt with. It was called thinking.

_From thieving scoundrel to full fledged bookworm…boy has Remy played a strange hand. Who in their right mind would think a fella would go from the Thieves Guild to a philosophy major on a team of mutant superheroes? If that thought did be crossing anyone's mind they probably be on some very powerful medications. The craziest part is this be making perfect sense to Remy._

_All my life, I be thinking and questioning. There be a lot of jokes about folks who do philosophy. Hell, Remy's heard half of them from Bobby and Kitty. It takes a certain mindset to even wanna look into this stuff. I wouldn't say Remy was always in this frame of mind. Circumstances be playing a major role._

Remy turned his attention to one of his textbooks that had a chapter on dualism, which was one of the oldest branches of philosophy. It went all the way back to the days of Aristotle and Plato, marking the first early attempt to make sense of human nature. The key to dualism was the supposed conflict between mind and body. The body was physical. The mind was not. The big question it asked was how do these forces interact with one another?

"A mind be a terrible thing to waste," said Remy as he read over the first few paragraphs of the chapter, "A body be a downright tragedy."

That wasn't from the textbook, but it probably should have been. A lot of this philosophy jargon often induced a fair level of eye-rolling. That's why it was so hard to get others to go over it with him. Not that Remy blamed them, but this sort of thing really resonated with him because he had so much experience in these deep musings.

_Talking to myself ain't healthy. I think it may even be a sign of mental illness. But sometimes you gotta say things out loud to turn thoughts into actions, even if it be as simple as turning it into speech. Thought and action be the cornerstone of dualism and every branch of philosophy that stems from it. By the luck of the draw, that same conflict be the cornerstone of Remy's messed up life._

_Early on, Remy be pulled in both directions. My perè, Jean-Luc, always told me not to think. He didn't like me asking questions or even making comments. He only wanted me to show him I could do all the thieving techniques I taught him. I did just that, but them questions kept bothering me. That's where my merè came in. Marianne Lebeau was damn near the complete opposite of Jean-Luc. She did a hell of a lot more with just a few actions. A single hug from her told me a hell of a lot more than Jean-Luc ever could. She actually listened to my questions and encouraged me to ask more. Thing is, she didn't usually have the answer. All she could do was teach Remy how to find out for myself._

_When it came to having adopted parents, Remy's sure knew how to confuse a kid. Jean-Luc always gave the impression that he adopted Remy because he was different. Remy's mutation showed itself early by makin' my eyes look all freaky. It scared off most parents, but not Jean-Luc. There be more function than heart when he makes a decision. For Marianne, it was different. I think she wanted a son that Jean-Luc didn't brainwash with his thieving philosophies. I don't think she ever bought into the guild. Her father was one of the highest ranking leaders. She be born into this world and it never really suited her. She sensed it didn't suit Remy too…not entirely anyways. She always tried to balance out the lessons that Jean-Luc taught me with lessons of her own. I'm glad she did because it kept Remy from being brainwashed by the whole Thieves Guild mystique._

_I still paid my dues, learning how to steal and mastering the art of the bow staff from Jean-Luc. I kept learning even as Marianne's health started failing. The rest of Remy's family didn't know it, but she had been abusing pills for years. It was the only way she could cope with being in a world she couldn't leave. To his credit, Jean-Luc did his best for her. The problem is Jean-Luc's best ain't what it should be. He was only willing to go so far, but that wasn't nearly enough. Pretty soon Marianne's organs started failing and that was it. She wasn't gonna make it._

_Remy could have broken down and cried like a baby. I sure as hell wanted to when I saw her lying in hospital beds, lookin' like the life was just being sucked out of her. I be only ten at the time. How could I not? But Marianne wouldn't let me feel that kind of pain. The lesson she taught me that day was probably the most important lesson Remy's ever learned._

"_Don't shed any tears for me, Remy. I'm not leaving you behind. I'm just going to be with you in a different way. I'm ready to move on. I want this. But what I want even more is for you to remember…to remember just how special you are."_

_Those were Marianne's last words. I stayed by her bed and watched her slip away from the world of the living. I honored her final wishes and didn't cry when she passed. The only one who cried, as messed up as it be, was Jean-Luc. It was the only time Remy ever saw him shed any tears. It showed the old man had some heart, but he still lacked spirit. Remy knows this because what he did was clearly different from what he thought. The man was like the rest of the Thieves Guild. He acted without thinking. Remy wasn't gonna make that same mistake and boy did it cost me._

Remy flipped through a few more pages of his textbook. There were entire sections dedicated to the seemingly endless debates regarding the mind/body conflict in philosophy. There were mentions of Psychological Parallelism, Occasionalism, Empiphenomenalism, and the big branches of Physicalistic Monisms. Some theories asserted that the mind and body are entirely separate and should be treated as such. Others asserted that there was no distinction and one can't be defined without the other. There was no right or wrong answer. That's not how philosophy worked. What struck Remy was how this debate echoed the many conflicts of his life.

_With Marianne gone, Remy was trust onto the front lines. By the time I was 13, I be pullin' off some pretty big jobs. Remy stole from tourists, cargo ships, and even a few museums. Remy had to go the extra distance because a lot more was expected of me. I was the one with the mutant powers. I was the one who had the edge. That would have been all well and good if Remy's powers had actually been workin' at the time. I get the feeling it just be an excuse by the other Thieves to look down at Remy._

_It ain't a pleasant feeling…being an outcast among outcasts. But Remy's kind of glad they did keep me at arms length. That kept Remy from getting too comfortable with the whole mentality of the Thieves Guild. It kept Remy thinking, questioning, and doubting just as Marianne taught me. That be where the big conflict emerged. As a thief, Remy did every deed the Thieves Guild asked and Remy didn't just succeed…he did it with his own style. But what Remy did was different than what Remy thought. While I'm going through all these here motions, I keep wrestling with all these burning questions. Why was Remy here? Does Remy even belong in a world like this? Is Remy Lebeau just another thug? Or is Remy Lebeau destined for more? _

_I wrestled with these thoughts every hour of every day. All the while Remy kept doing the deeds everybody expected him to do. I stayed close to Jean-Luc and my adopted siblings. Together, we carried out our share of heists. We also got into our share of trouble, mostly with rival guilds. Remy always held his own, but there was never any stability. Jean-Luc talks about all these rules and duties of a thief. He and damn near every guild in New Orleans acted as though there were lines in this here business. Even if we never crossed those lines, the problems was the same. _

_Being thieves and deviants means at the end of the day there are no lines. That didn't bother the rest of the guild, but it bothered Remy. If I was gonna stay true to Marianne's lessons, I needed something to keep Remy grounded. I eventually found it in the most unexpected of places. This brought in a whole new bit of philosophy that helped Remy along the way._

Leaning back from the table, the Cajun mutant took out one of his many decks of cards from his pocket. With the skilled dexterity of a career thief, he casually shuffled the deck like a pro and pulled off a few fancy tricks for show. It was as effortless as breathing to him. He flipped the cards in and around his hands, swirling them around a bit in a playful manner. He then drew a random card from the top of the deck and placed it on his text book. The card turned out to be the ace of hearts, a lucky draw that seemed very appropriate.

_It's the ugly step-child to skill and talent. Any homme can work hard and be good at something, but unless they have a little thing called luck on their side they ain't gonna succeed. Jean-Luc always taught Remy that a good thief makes his own luck. The old man had to eat them words on the night we clashed with the Assassins Guild on neutral turf._

_The whole raid went down on a riverboat casino that was anchored just outside New Orleans. Like real casinos, these boats had to have cash on board to cover all the chips they be dishing out. The only obstacle was that since it was in the water, it was fair game for other guilds as well. Jean-Luc wanted the Thieves Guild to get in on the action and got a little cocky in the process. _

_Remy was fifteen at the time and just went along with it. We slipped in under the cover of darkness on inflatable rafts. A dozen thieves were with us and we made it on board without causin' a racket. We then hit the casino floors, which was dark at the time. We had to take out a few sailors in the process, but it wasn't anything aspirin and a glass of bourbon wouldn't heal. We then made it through two layers of security and into a vault where they kept the cash. Soon as we broke in, we was in for a rude awakening. The Assassins had beat us to the punch and were already in the process of cleaning the whole place out. The moment they laid eyes on us, both plans went out the dang window and an all out fight broke out._

_It got heated real fast. The Assassins often pack a lot more heat than the Thieves. This time they had a fresh batch of AK-47s straight from Russia. We only had some shotguns on hand so we had to retreat back into the casino. It got pretty rough. A couple of thieves got capped and we only took out one assassin. I stuck by Jean-Luc since he was a big target. The man still wasn't thinkin' straight. He considered it an insult to his honor if we just retreated. He wanted to hit back. Remy could have listed at least fifty reasons why that be a bad idea, but once again Remy didn't speak up. Remy just went along and followed Jean-Luc back towards the vault._

_This be the point where lady luck paid Remy a visit. First, four of the Assassins got the jump on us and managed to corner me and Jean-Luc. At one point we was staring down the barrel of four guns. As we was running away, Remy was gettin' this strange burning feeling on all over his body. And I ain't talking about the usual strange feelings teenage boys be having. It felt like I was on fire. Jean-Luc tried to pull me ahead, but Remy ended up tripping over a table and knocking over a bunch of playing cards at a Blackjack table. When them cards touched Remy's hands, they started glowing. Jean-Luc barely paid attention and kept saying we had to keep moving. But Remy actually took a moment to think. Them extra thoughts would pay off big time._

_Now Remy ain't sure if it was instinct or the spirit of Marianne guiding me, but somehow I took control of this power. I took a whole deck of cards in hand and watched them glow. Then I threw them up in the air right over the heads of the incoming Assassins. They ran right into the trap and the cards exploded right over their heads, takin' every one of them out in less than a second. It didn't kill them, but it did turn the tide. When Jean-Luc saw it, I swear the man's face lit up like the sun._

_With this here power, Jean-Luc rushed Remy back towards the vault. He and the rest of the team got as many cards as we could carry and with them, Remy unleashed his own version of 52 Pick-Up. It left the Assassins powerless and the Thieves in control. We made off with the loot and Remy earned himself a new kind of respect._

Remy smiled to himself as he continued shuffling, dealing more cards out onto the table. Each one was random and uncontrolled, yet their value was set and defined. This simple nature resonated with Remy on so many levels. No one else understood his obsession with playing cards. To him, it wasn't an obsession. It was a tool for both his actions and his thoughts. When he finally dealt the queen of hearts, he picked it up held with an extra sense of meaning.

"Queen of hearts…Remy's first love," he said distantly.

_Being a mutant finally paid off at just the right time. It was a complete fluke. That's often how luck works. This be shown in the nature of playing cards. In any game you ain't got no control over the hand you're dealt. You gotta make due with what you have and hope you can bluff your way to winning. It seems like chaos, but it's more than that. Each card has it's own value and role. Four suits be like the four elements of the world, tying everything together. The face cards from the king to the queen is like the hierarchy we all be living under in some form or another. Each number be like steps in the process of life. Each one has it's place and each one can add up._

_This became the stability Remy had been lacking. It was a damn good thing too because things with the Guild got pretty chaotic afterward. Suddenly, Remy Lebeau was hot stuff. Everybody be throwing their backs behind Remy even after treatin' him like an outcast. It did wonders for Remy's confidence. Suddenly it was like Remy was king of New Orleans. I could go anywhere and automatically command respect. It sure went a long ways with the femmes too. It was a teenage boy's dream come true. I ain't modest about it either. Remy got to bed some pretty nice femmes at an age when most boys be stuck with underwear magazines. It was all meant to set Remy up as the big cheese of the Guild. _

_It would have been easy for Remy to get lost in all this fun, but Marianne's spirit didn't leave me. Remy kept on thinking. All them luxuries was nice and all, but ain't no amount of luxuries could answer them burning questions Remy kept struggling with. Again, Remy's action didn't always fall in line with his thoughts. I could be the coolest, slickest cat on Bourbon Street. But in my own head, I was a mess. I knew damn well that the only reason everyone started loving Remy all of the sudden was because of my powers. There ain't nobody who loved Remy just for Remy. That be a pretty big hole to fill. It seemed damn near inevitable that luck would find a way to deal Remy a wildcard._

_As it turns out, Remy wasn't the only one with mutant powers in the New Orleans underworld. There was a girl around Remy's age who had the power to form these hot plasma blasts. Her name was Belladonna and she was the most beautiful woman in the state of Louisiana. There was just one problem. She happened to be the daughter of Marius Boudreaux, the head of the Assassins Guild._

Remy gathered up his cards and closed his textbooks, suddenly feeling less inclined to study. His relaxed demeanor shifted to one of sorrow. In an appropriate twist of chance the last card he picked up was an ace of hearts. It didn't seem fair. Every time matters of the heart crossed his mind, Belladonna came up. It was as inescapable as the random hand dealt in a game of cards.

With his head hung low, Remy slipped the deck back into his pocket and pulled out a card of a different kind. This one didn't have symbols, numbers, or royalty printed on it. But it did have significant value…more so than a million full decks. On it was a beautiful woman with blonde hair, an athletic frame, a tough demeanor, and an alluring gaze that could bring any man to his knees.

"Bella…" said Remy softly, "Celle qui a volé mon coeur."

In French, that translated to the one that stole his heart. It was how he now referred to Belladonna and it couldn't have been more appropriate. This woman had stolen his heart. What made it even more difficult was that she didn't stop there.

_Ever since Remy's merè died, Remy never knew anyone who reached Remy in that special sort of way. Belladonna finally stepped up to the challenge. We knew about each other for years just as all Thieves knew the Assassins. Far as we was concerned, we were enemies and that was that. But being a mutant, Belladonna had the same problem Remy had. Everybody be looking to take that power and use it for the good of the Guild. What she did meant more than what she felt and that bugged the hell out of her. It bugged her so much that she ran away a few times and that's how she ended up crossin' paths with Remy._

_It all came together in another flash of luck. Remy had just turned 18 and was celebrating with some of the Thieves. They all got pretty drunk and it got too risky for me to keep beatin' them at poker. So Remy slipped away to be alone with his thoughts. It was something I had to do often so I didn't forget Marianne. I ran into Belladonna just outside the bar. She was just lingering around, knowing full well that this was Thieves Guild territory. But she didn't care. She just needed to get away from it all like Remy. Something about that drew me to her and from there, it all went down._

_We were just what we needed for each other. Remy gave Bella someone to relate to and Bella gave Remy who understood Remy and not just what he could do. I fell head over heels for this woman. We weren't all that subtle about it either. Bella ain't one for charm. She can be downright forceful at times, but in a sassy and sexy way that was exciting as it was hot._

_At first, we had to keep it all a secret. Bella and I could only see each other sparingly, but that didn't stop us from getting really close. A little over a year later, Remy thought he found the one. Remy had the girl of his dreams. But there was no gettin' around that big elephant in the room. She was an assassin. Remy was a thief. How could we be together? One time I told her we should just quit and run away together. It would be so much easier on both of us. But she wouldn't hear it. Belladonna may have been annoyed with her role in the Assassins, but she still embraced her role with them. She wasn't about to leave them or her family. Bella being Bella, she was gonna find a way to get what she wanted._

_The solution she came up with made Remy question whether Bella was thinkin' straight to begin with. She flat out told her perè that she had been seein' Remy for the past year. I'm sure Marius Boudreaux's first inclination was to put a hit out on Remy so big every thug on the continent would come after Remy. But somehow Belladonna coaxed him into making this into something positive. She proposed a peace deal between the Thieves and the Assassins, the first of it's kind in the history of the Guilds. In exchange for mutual benefits of the New Orleans underworld, Bella and Remy would be married and unite the two families. It all seemed so nice on paper. In practice, however, it be like playing with the houses money. It wasn't gonna work and someone was gonna have to pay up._

Remy's gaze narrowed on the picture. As strong as his feelings were for this woman, there was a touch of anger as well. He was willing to sacrifice so much for Belladonna. He was willing to walk away from the life the had caused them so much frustration, but she wasn't. She just had to stay within the endless if not pointless conflict between the Assassins and Thieves. Either she was stubborn or she didn't love Remy enough to pay that price. Even if she was, it was their own fateful decisions that did them in.

_The idea of gettin' married so young didn't appeal to Remy in a lot of ways, but if it meant making life easier for me and Belladonna then Remy was ready to make that sacrifice. For a while, it looked like there was finally gonna be an end to this pointless rivalry. Too bad peace just wasn't enough for some folk._

_A couple of weeks before the wedding, Remy's brother Etinne pulled him aside and revealed that most of the Thieves Guild didn't want peace. They wanted to end the Assassins once and for all. He told Remy that some anonymous tip came in saying this weird relic was being shipped in from Tibet. But this ain't no ordinary relic. It's this ancient gem that supposedly has this super powerful voodoo that grants the user unstoppable power. The plan was to take this gem and when all the Assassins were in place at the wedding, they would unleash it's power._

_It was crazy. Remy felt like blowing Etinne up where he stood. I must have blown a lung out yelling at him, but he told me this be going down whether I like it or not. And if I didn't want to get Belladonna caught in the crossfire, I would go along. The only reason they didn't keep it form Remy was because I was the only one who could break in and steal this thing. He promised Remy that this was just gonna destroy the Assassins. It wasn't gonna destroy Belladonna. They even said they had this here telepath, Mastermind or something, that could alter her memories so she wouldn't blame Remy. Hell, they could make it so she believed she was a thief and we could be together without any complications ever. It was all such a sweet deal. But it stank like bad gumbo. That's when Remy made a decision that was gonna haunt me till the end of time._

_Remy agreed to it. Remy promised to help them steal the gem and keep his mouth shut. I had to put on a hell of an act, making it sound like I wanted Belladonna to have her mind messed up so she loved Remy for all the wrong reasons. I had to sound like a greedy, selfish bastard. What Remy did sure as hell didn't match up with what he thought. That kind of mindset will screw any homme up no matter how strong he was. I had every intention of makin' sure this didn't go down the way everyone wanted._

_The plan sure wasn't simple. It be the kind of job you need big time stones to pull off. This gem was comin' in on this military ship, complete with guns and soldiers armed to kill. The only one who had a prayer of gettin' in was Remy and that's exactly what I did. Remy rode up to the ship in the dead of night on nothin' but an inflatable boat. The rest of the Thieves were on standby, causin' a distraction by disgusin' themselves as national guards to keep the ship anchored. They took the front while Remy entered from the rear. Remy had to be so careful I couldn't even have a flashlight._

_Gettin' inside wasn't too big a deal. Remy just climbed up halfway and opened a hole in a small hole in the back that I Remy could crawl through. Once Remy was inside, the real shit began. It must have taken me a good twenty minutes to get to the right level. Remy had to take out six armed guards and make sure they stayed knocked out long enough. By the time Remy reached the cargo hold, I was already behind. That gem was hidden in three layers of protection that took six decks of cards to get into. When I finally did get through, I was so far behind the alarm went off. It was gettin' ugly fast, but it got worse even faster._

_Once Remy had the gem, he had to escape. I had to find a whole new way out because guards be swarming the way Remy came in. But then something happened that Remy didn't expect. Up top our cover was blown. The Thieves Guild weren't the only ones that knew about the gem. The entire Assassins Guild knew about it too. They must have got the same anonymous tip and come up with the same plan to wipe out the Thieves. Remy knew it was heavy because the ship took some unexpected damage below deck. A bunch of holes were blown right into the hull and Remy figured out quickly that there was only one way they could do that._

_It was Belladonna. She was part of the raid. She and every Assassin in New Orleans must have been there, armed to the teeth and killin' everyone on that ship. It was a dang blood bath. Most of the Thieves Remy came with got caught in the crossfire. I had to get outta there. The gunfight did help in some ways because it gave Remy the distraction he needed to break out some extra firepower. I charged me some heavy gears and blew a hole right through the middle of the ship. When Remy climbed out, the first person he saw was Belladonna. I swear I'll never forget the look in her eyes._

_She was hurt…heartbroken…enraged. She thought Remy betrayed her. She didn't even give Remy time to explain. All I could do was run. That's when she said it…the last words Remy ever heard her say._

"_I HATE YOU REMY LEBEAU! I HATE YOU!"_

Remy had to put away the picture and get up from his seat. A wave of agonizing emotions came over him. He shed no tears, but his sorrow was thick. He closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands as those words echoed through his mind. The woman he loved hated him. She said it with such anger it still burned within his soul to this day. The worst part was that wasn't the most terrible thing that happened that night.

_In that same moment, a stray bullet hit Belladonna right in the back. Remy remembers seein' the blood through the darkness. It was the worst sight Remy laid eyes on since the death of Marianne. In that one moment all the conflict between what Remy thought and what Remy said came to a head. For the first time, Remy forgot about the job and went to his cherè. I took her in my arms. It tried to save her. But it was too late. Remy had to watch her take her last breath._

_While this was happening, the Thieves and the Assassins were still going at it. They didn't give a damn that the woman Remy loved be dead. They didn't even give a damn that this whole fight be pointless. Remy was sick of it. I couldn't take fighting for something I didn't even believe in. So in one single act, Remy betrayed both the Assassins and the Thieves. I took the gem that had cost all these lives and threw it into the sea. For good measure, Remy jumped overboard and let the sea take him too. I didn't even care if I survived because from that day forward, Remy was dead to the Assassins and the Thieves._

_The problem was Remy did survive. I ain't even sure how, but Remy washed up on a dock later that night. All the fightin' stopped. The gem be gone and the wedding was off. The very next day Remy found out he be officially cast out by the Thieves Guild. That was like death. Being cast out meant Remy was a traitor to the Guild and the only honorable thing to do was offer his blood as payment. That sure as hell wasn't gonna happen. Remy ain't gonna shed blood for a family that don't care enough to let Remy be Remy. I was gonna fight to live on my own, but Remy didn't see much worth living for._

_After a mess like this, the smart thing Remy should have done was leave New Orleans and never look back. Part of Remy wanted to, but more parts didn't give a damn about living on. Far as Remy was concerned, his life was over. The only thing left to do was hang around and wait for the Assassins and Thieves to kill Remy. The best way to defy them was to make it tough for them. It seemed like the only future Remy had left. That's when Remy was dealt another hand. Remy may have given up on Remy, but Lady Luck sure wasn't ready to let Remy cash in his chips._

After gathering himself, Remy solemnly made his way over to the window at the far end of the library. No longer focused on his school work, he took a moment to collect his thoughts and admire the setting sun outside. Coincidentally, he saw a familiar presence down below watching the sunset as well. It was Ororo Munroe, a woman who was less a wildcard and more a queen of hearts.

She seemed to be having a much easier night than him. She was out by the pool, sharing a moment with her new boyfriend, Logan. He had a beer in one hand like always and she had what looked like a glass of wine in hers. She was smiling and laughing, enjoying the presence of her lover. Logan was smiling as well, a very rare act for him and one that the rest of the mansion still wasn't used to seeing. Almost as unbelievable was the mere idea that Ororo would fall for a man like Logan. It wasn't so much that they were incompatible. Remy had seen the signs with her leading up to the events in District X that brought them together. What really struck him was how he seeing her and Logan reminded him of those dark times when Ororo had been a much bigger part of his life.

_Boy you don't know how lucky you are, Wolverine. You be gettin' a hand even better than the one Remy got. You got Ororo's heart and much to Remy's surprise, you ain't making light of it. Wish Remy could say the same._

_The year after Remy broke off from the Thieves Guild were the worst. Remy probably would have ended up dead pretty quickly if I hadn't crossed paths with a pretty college girl who just arrived from Africa. We actually met when Remy got into a scuffle in the French Quarter when Remy challenged some thugs to a game of poker. Remy won of course, but these hommes turned out to be friends of the Assassins and when they found out who Remy was they chased me into the alley behind one of the bars. Remy didn't put up that much of a fight. Hell, I was ready for them to kill me at that point. But before they could really get rough, Stormy came flying in with her weather voodoo goin' full steam. She scared those hommes off so fast they probably still running. At first Remy was pissed she butt right into Remy's problems. Now I'm glad she did._

_Stormy took pity on this here Cajun. She didn't have many friends and when she found out that Remy was a mutant, she reached out to me. Even though I be younger than her and in a world of trouble, she wanted to connect with someone. Never one to reject a pretty femme, Remy gave her a chance and she made the most of it._

_The next few years were rebound years for Remy. Stormy brought Remy into her world. She let him hang out with her on her college campus. She even developed them fine teaching skills of hers, giving Remy a crash course in all the education the Thieves Guild never gave me. It may not seem like much, but to Remy it meant a whole lot. It was the first step towards really getting away from the Guilds. Stormy was a former thief as well and she was able to break away from it all. She showed Remy that it was possible to build a life outside thieving. It gave Remy the desire to play his cards differently._

_Now in the middle of all this there were some other cards dealt that we ended up playing. It ain't something we bring up, but Remy and Stormy did share a few passionate nights. She had her share of heartache as well and since Remy was still hurtin' over the loss of Belladonna, we comforted each other in any way we could. Sometimes that just involved bein' naked and in bed together. But Remy never felt for Stormy what he felt for Belladonna. Remy didn't feel ready for that kind of heartache again. A lot of that be changing since Remy joined the X-men._

As the Cajun casually leaned up against the wall near the window, he pulled out another card from the deck in his pocket. This time it was a queen of hearts. It was a card he rarely used in battle because he liked to keep it with him. In a ways it symbolized the pain in his heart he still felt after what happened with Belladonna. It also symbolized the strength he retained from that agonizing affair and how he resisted closing himself off from the rest of the world. It was an important step towards making a better life for himself.

_Stormy left Remy in quite a pickle when she left to join the X-men. At one point she offered to take me along with her so I could meet Professor Xavier. It be tempting, but Remy couldn't leave just yet. Stormy did so much to get Remy back on his feet again. Now that Remy had that strength, I couldn't just up and leave New Orleans. Remy had to do something to make things right._

_Looking back on it, Remy probably made one too many mistakes after Stormy left. I tried a few times to get in touch with the Guilds and set the record straight. They weren't all that understanding to say the very least. Heck, the more Remy pushed the more pissed they got. They didn't just take it out on Remy either. They took it out on each other to the point where Jean-Luc and Marius had to work out some kind of peace deal to keep them from slaughtering each other. Then Sinister and the Brotherhood entered the picture with them sentinel thefts. Remy had to make a move then even if it meant tellin' a few white lies._

_Old habits die hard, I guess. What Remy thought and what he did was still hard wired and that didn't do me any favors when I reached out to Stormy for help. Remy had to call their bluff and lie about having some insight info on the thefts. Truth was, Remy didn't know squat. Remy just got dealt another lucky hand because Stormy and the X-men still helped Remy. They rescued him from the Guilds, exposed the truth, and got them to call off their war before it began._

_It was a big turning point for Remy. It was during all that bullshit that Remy's mind and body finally got some overdue tweaking. I couldn't be thinking like a thief no more or an outcast. Remy had to get in a whole new mindset and that's what the X-men did. They gave Remy a chance to use his skills for something good instead of something greedy. Instead of fighting a war, I be fighting to stop it. I can't say the whole human/mutant equality thing flies with Remy. For this here Cajun, the good fight be the one that stops the next fight from being worse. Remy's already shown his worth against the likes of Juggernaut, Magneto, and Sinister. Each fight against them was more rewarding than a million successful missions with the Guild. That says to Remy that the X-men be the right place for him. This is where I become the homme I wanna be._

_It didn't come easy, that's for sure. The philosophies of every homme be pretty damn stubborn no matter how good they work. Stormy and Professor X sure did their part in giving Remy the opportunity, but it was another special cherè that really turned Remy's world around._

A wide grin formed on Remy's face as he continued to gaze down at Ororo and Logan. It seemed somewhat fitting that a guy like him would be so deeply affected by a few very special women. It had always been the women in his life that led him down the right paths. First there was Marianne. Then there was Belladonna. Then there was Storm. It was only a matter of time before another queen of hearts entered his life and this time there were a whole host of new feelings that came along with it.

The Cajun mutant was so caught up in his daze he barely noticed a familiar presence enter the library. It was the very queen that had done so much for him and his new life with the X-men. Her real name was Marie Anna Darkholme, but the name she always went by and the name that so captivated him was best summed up in one word…Rogue.

"Well color me pink and splash glitter on mah face, the sun is setting and Remy Lebeau is still studying. Either the world is comin' to an and or Ah had one too many helpings of Beast's extra spicy Midwest chili," chided Rogue as she approached the Cajun.

"Nice to see you too, cherè," said Remy coyly, "And your eyes not be deceiving you. Remy's still here studying."

"Then it has to be the chili."

"If it was you wouldn't be showin' Remy that sassy smile of yours. You'd also be going after Beast and not some handsome Cajun you can't seem to stay away from."

"That's what Ah get for tellin' jokes around an egotistical man-child who deals in philosophy," said Rogue, rolling her eyes, "Come on, Remy, you know how Ah feel about you working that charm on meh. Are you ever gonna tone it down any more than this?"

"Can't help it, cherè," he shrugged, "It works too dang well!"

"Says you," she teased.

It was still a taboo subject. Remy still flirted with Rogue incessantly even when she said it was pointless to do so because she couldn't touch. She also made it clear that they couldn't go beyond a certain point of closeness, even when there was a clear desire to do so. That still didn't stop Remy from fueling those desires. He just couldn't help himself around this woman.

"Now are you gonna join meh on a smoke break or not? Ah ain't had one all day and Ah sure as hell need one after spending the last four hours makin' up tests," said Rogue.

"If it helps you that much cherè, how can Remy say no?" he shrugged.

Rogue gave him another one of those sassy smiles. Remy kept with the charm, smiling back as he put away his cards and followed her out of the library with a pack of cigarettes in hand. Even though she often expressed how much she disliked his flirting, she gave plenty of subtle hints that she liked it. Remy often sensed in Rogue someone who said one thing while thinking another. It was a mindset he was all too familiar with. It was part of what made her so easy to relate to, giving him all the more incentive to work his charm on her.

It still bugged him that Rogue resisted getting too close to him. Even if she couldn't touch, he made it pretty clear that she meant more to him than a typical friend or teammate. That didn't stop him from holding out for her. The touch issue was something that could change in the future. When it did, Remy was going to be ready.

_Remy never likes to make it easy when it comes to the femmes he loves. Meaningless flings be easy enough. It's them deeper feelings that Remy be a glutton for punishment. With Belladonna, there be the extra challenge of her being part of the Assassins Guild. With Stormy, there be the extra challenge of being an outcast among thieves while she was trying to get her life on track. Now with Rogue, the challenge ain't got nothing to do with family or circumstances. It's all physical._

_When Remy first joined up, Rogue could touch. But she just broke up with Cyclops so she wasn't in any mood for romance. Remy was still adjusting as well so Remy wasn't in all that good a mood either. Then Sinister came along and now Rogue's powers prevent her from touching. Because of this little side-effect, she keeps everybody at a distance outta fear of hurtin' the people she cares about. Early on Remy tried to close that gap, but Rogue pushed away. She didn't do it very nicely either. She hurt Remy and Remy didn't much appreciate it. But Remy couldn't stay away from this femme and she couldn't stay away from Remy._

_Maybe it be a good thing that she pushed away that first time. It forced the both of us to get to know each other on other levels besides the dirty stuff. It's forced Remy to do more than just hug and make love to a femme (even if Remy's really good at it). It makes what me and Rogue have deeper. It still ain't as deep as Remy wish it was, but what we have is special. Ain't no denying that. Whether or not it turns into something more depends on a lot of things going our way. We'll just have to wait and see._

Before he and Rogue left the library, Remy closed his textbooks. But before he set everything aside, he took one last look at the chapter on dualism he had been reading. Even with an impatient Rogue waiting for him, he paused for a moment to consider the deeper meaning of this life had had endured.

_In the end the big philosophical question be the same. Where does Remy go from here? What does Remy do with this life as an X-men? Where does Rogue be fitting into it? What does it all mean? In philosophy there be no clear answers. That's because only questions have answers. Philosophy has musings. It's like a game of cards in that it can't ever be won. It can only be played. There always be another hand to deal. Remy's had his share of bad hands and good hands. All Remy can do is keep on playing._

_For what Remy's won and what he's lost, I still ain't ready to cash in just yet. Now that Remy's here with the X-men, I can safely say I'm all in. Bring on the next hand. Whatever cards be dealt, Remy Lebeau is gonna play 'em. Ain't no philosophy there. That's just the old fashioned truth._

* * *

**Up next: Kurt Wagner**_  
_


	2. Kurt Wagner

**Supreme Reflections  
Kurt Wagner**

* * *

**Kurt's Reflections (AN: Takes place shortly after issue 56)**

_Vhat does it mean to have faith? Vhat does it mean to believe in something vhen zhe world around you offers no reason to do so? Everybody has faith in something. It can be as mundane as a sports team or as profound as a religion. It can bind people together or tear them apart. It can strengthen a soul or crush it. All my life I've seen the power of faith and vhether I like it or not, I must rely on it if I'm to face vhatever my future has in store for me._

It was another quiet night for Kurt Wagner. The clock just passed two in the morning and he still had no inclination to sleep. It wasn't unusual for him. Sleep was somewhat unorthodox for him. He had always been a night person, doing much of his sleep during the day time. Because of how he looked, it was unavoidable. It didn't affect him too much because he never needed much sleep to begin with. He could get by just fine on a few hours a day and not feel groggy in the slightest. It was a nice talent to have because while the others were sleeping, it allowed him to be alone with his thoughts.

His favorite spot to ponder the world around him was the roof. The Xavier Institute had a nice flat area near the antenna and satellite dish. It was only a matter of teleporting onto his favorite perch near the edge, giving him a perfect view of the lake out back and the full moon above it. Kurt always felt this strange peace during the late hours of the night. It was part of what earned him the nickname Nightcrawler, a label he had carried for as long as he could remember.

_Zhe night is darkest before zhe dawn. Zhat's vhat everyone likes to say vhen zhey're trying to cheer someone up. For me, zhe darkest part of zhe night is better zhen 100 sunrises. It is zhe hour of night vhere my spirit is at its peak. I feel as in tune vith zhe night as a bird feels in tune vith zhe sky. It sets me apart in many ways. It's only fitting vhen you look so inhuman you're often mistaken for a demon or someone in a bad Avatar costume. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me. I deal vith it because I taught to deal vith it since zhe moment I vas born._

_As if my blue skin, pointy ears, spaded tail, and three-digit fingers veren't a big enough clue, my birth vas not a normal birth. But it vasn't just because I vas born a mutant either. Lots of mutants are born vith physical deformations and while my mother vas a mutant, she only provided half of vhat makes me who I am. Zhe other half came from my father. His human name vas Adrian Christian Wagner. But zhe man vasn't human. He vasn't a mutant either. He vas something far more exotic. He vas Azazel…Lord of zhe Cheyarafim…herald of Limbo._

_He vasn't a demon from Hell per se. He vas certainly no angel either. Limbo is not zhe same realm zhat mainstream religion thinks it is. Zhe realm has nothing to do vith death, heaven, or hell. Zhat's not to say it's a very nice place either. Limbo is a harsh and fiery world, one where zhe laws of physics are quite different. Unlike zhis world, Limbo is rich in supernatural energy and as such zhere are many mystical creatures living vithin it. My father is one of them and a very important one at zhat. He is zhe lord of zhe Cheyarafim, a small group of creatures zhat vield tremendous influence over zhe realm of Limbo. Zhey are akin to zhe shaman of our world. Zhey have great knowledge of zhe mystic arts zhey also have the power to connect vith other vorlds, namely our own. For vhatever reason, Limbo and zhis realm are deeply connected and Azazel's clan has many reasons to keep an eye on it._

_Zhat's not to say he had zhe kindness of your typical holy man. Azazel vas not adverse to violence, pain, and bloodshed. He vasn't afraid to kill or destroy. However, he vas not a monster. Everything he did, both good and bad, had balance to it. Zhat vas a huge aspect of how Limbo worked. Zhere is a lot of violence and destruction, yet it is always complimented vith justice and understanding. Zhis vas zhe most important message my father ever imparted on me…zhe idea of balancing chaotic forces. It vas like a religion to him and zhe rest of Limbo. It's a religion zhat many would probably find strange, but vhatever it vas I became it's most faithful adherent._

_Many are quick to point out zhe irony and I agree. A man who looks like a demon having faith seems foolish. But it's true. I do consider myself a man of faith. It may not be zhe faith of your typical major religion or even your atypical cult, but I vould wager zhat my faith is every bit as strong as zhe most devout believer. It has to be. I vould be lost vithout it._

Kurt tensed as he sat atop his perch, gazing out towards the moon. It seemed the debilitating distresses of his life always found him, even in moments of peace. Whenever he felt this, he reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the only remaining relics from his father that he still had. Now seemed like an appropriate a time as any.

It was nothing fancy. It was a simple collection of rosemary beads that had a string of small religious symbols. There was a Christian cross, an Islamic crescent, a Buddhist wheel, and even a pagan pentagram. Even though the Azazel had plenty of wealth and power, that balance Kurt's father was so keen on always found its way into his life. The manifestation of all faiths seemed to reflect the level of devotion Kurt Wagner had in the principles he had been taught all his life.

As he looked down at this simple relic and grasped it in his hand, his tension eased. It allowed him to collect himself and find that balance again that was so important to his life. It didn't always grant him the concrete answers he desired, but that was where faith came in. It had been giving him strength since his birth.

_My life did not begin under normal circumstances. I vas not conceived through an immaculate conception or anything either. My father came from Limbo on a mission and part of zhat mission vas to have a child vith a woman from zhis realm. It couldn't be just any woman though. My father vas not one to settle for less. He spent nearly five years establishing himself in zhis realm as Adrian Christian Wagner, leader of zhe mercenary band known as zhe Azazel. He had a human form zhat zhe rest of zhe world knew, but zhis vas just a spell zhat shrouded his real appearance. In both forms he vas quite successful. In zhat time he met a lot of strong women, but one among zhem stood out above all others. She vas zhe only one who vas drawn to both his human and demonic form._

_Raven Darkholme, zhe woman who vould later bear me in her womb, is a unique character to say zhe least. She is tough in a vays zhat defies description and zhat's not entirely a good zhing. My mother has always been a vindictive, bitter woman. She can be cruel, untrusting, and downright mean sometimes. She'll do all zhe wrong zhings for zhe right reasons. Yet she still has zhis uncanny capacity for love and dedication. She's never overt about it. She even tries to hide it through her guise as a shape-shifter. Only a few have the privilege of seeing zhat side of her. I saw it as her son and Azazel certainly saw it as her lover._

_Unlike most parents, my father did not spare me the details of how he and my mother conceived me. Mystique vas a well-known mercenary at the time, doing any number of jobs for money or because her friend Irene Adler said zhey were important for zheir future. I'm not sure if she foresaw vhat would happen vhen my mother crossed paths vith Azazel, but I'm certain she had an inkling of sorts. I vas told my mother seemed adverse to any affectionate advances at the time. Yet somehow, Azazel got through to her. _

_For a time, zhere vas plenty of passion. My father vas always quite clear about his emotions in zhis respect. He genuinely fell in love with my mother. It may seem hard to believe given who he was and where he came form, but I never doubted him. He loved her and zhe strange part vas he did not expect to love her. He only expected to produce a child vith her. And so he did. I don't know how thrilled Mystique vas about zhe notion, but I do know she vas very upset to find out zhat part of his mission vas to seduce a woman for zhe sole purpose of having a son. Even if he did fall for her, he kept this secret from her and Mystique does not take kindly to deception. Vhatever passion zhey had vas killed by zhat revelation._

_I still don't quite know how strongly my mother felt for my father. Azazel may have been a complicated being, but he's still nowhere near zhe enigma my mother is. Perhaps zhat is vhy he fell for her. He could not figure her out. Mystique had always seemed…lost. She clearly had some feelings for my father, but she never loved him in zhe vay he loved her. I get zhe sense something vas holding her back and it vasn't just her vindictive nature. Vhatever it vas, it did not get in zhe vay of her giving birth to me and loving me like her son._

It was never easy trying to understand the circumstances of his birth. The intent seemed so callous. His father just needed to produce a child for his mission. Yet he was still conceived through and act of love. Azazel really did love Mystique even if she didn't return that love in the same capacity. It was enough to confuse anybody to the point of insanity.

For Kurt Wagner, however, he actually smiled. Looking down at the rosemary beads, it seemed like a story so filled with contradictions. Yet they balanced themselves out. That wasn't to say he didn't have conflicts about his heritage, but he did not have any shame. He was the son of Azazel and Mystique. He could not change that. Even if his father was a demonic-figured herald of Limbo, this would not be what defined him.

_Both my parents brought me into a world of conflict. As far back as I can remember, zhey always gave me zhat balance zhat vas so important. Zhey vould train me and teach me to be strong, smart, and cunning. Yet zhey vould always couple zhat vith zhe same dedication zhat any parent vould give to their child. Zhey did not always express their love in zhe most traditional of vays. But zhere vas never a point in my life vhere I felt unloved._

_I spent most of my childhood in Germany vith my father. As head of zhe Azazel, he had several opulent villas where I had everything a child could vant. However, I vas never spoiled. My father vorked hard to train me from zhe moment I could walk. He first put a sword in my hand vhen I was four at an age vhem most young boys are content vith toy cars. He taught me how to fight, utilizing my agility granted to me by my unique appearance. Every day was a new lesson in strength. My father vould always push me and I vould always do everything I could to impress him. I didn't always succeed, but I always earned his praise._

_It vas a difficult childhood in so many vays. Training and fighting each and every day vas a difficult task for anybody, even if zhey did have zhe legacy of Azazel guiding zhem. I vas still isolated in zhis privileged world. I could not go out into zhe cities of Germany and enjoy zhe world. I always had to wear zhis cloak my father gave me vhenever ve traveled. I didn't like it, but I figured out quickly vhy I had to wear it._

_Vhen I vas about six years old, my father took me into Berlin. Ve always traveled vith a lot of security so people assumed ve vere diplomats, thus leaving us alone. For whatever reason, I vandered off from his body guards and towards zhis shop zhat had all zhis religious art in zhe vindow. It reminded me a lot of zhe stories my father told me about Limbo and zhe mystic arts. I vas so drawn in zhat I didn't realize I pulled back my cloak too much. Vhen zhe shopkeeper saw me, she screamed so loud it could be heard for an entire city block._

_I didn't know vhat to say. I vas just a boy and didn't understand vhy I scared everybody. Zhe shopkeeper came after me vith a knife and some police came after me vith guns. I didn't have my teleportation powers at zhe time so I ran. I ran for vhat must have been two kilometers before I found what I thought was a safe place in a church that was closed for zhe day. It was a very scary moment. It vould be zhe last time I ever felt such fear. After about ten minutes of hiding, zhe mob of people found me. Zhey tried to corner me in zhe church, but zhey never got zhe chance. My father appeared in front of me, teleporting in a way I vould later master and casting a spell zhat made everybody pass out from a seizure. Zhe danger had passed, but I hung my head low zhat day. My father vas very disappointed in me and did not let my transgression go unnoticed._

_But as upset as he vas, he used zhe experience to teach me a lesson. Zhis difficult experience showed vhy I had to cover my face and vhy I had to live an isolated life. I did not look normal. I vasn't normal. For all I know, I may not be fully human. But zhat didn't mean I vas vithout humanity. My father said zhese people were ignorant and foolish. I can despise zheir hatred all I want, but I could not let it consume me. Only zhe weak allow themselves to be consumed by hatred and I vas not weak. I vas zhe son of Azazel. I had to have faith zhat regardless of my appearance, I vould rise above an ignorant world and do vhat needed to be done. Zhe only question for me vas why? Vhy must I be so strong? Vhat is zhe purpose of me being his son for zhis mission my father seemed so intent on completing?_

_I vould have to live much of my life without answers. My father could not or would not tell me zhe truth. He always assured me and my mother zhat there vas a good reason why he couldn't tell us. The reason, it seemed, was a great burden on him and his kind. He wanted to bear that burden alone. He did not vant anyone else to share it. All I could do vas have faith zhat vhatever he vas doing, it vas worth fighting for._

Faith, it seemed, was the key to it all. Kurt spent so many years of his life completely ignorant of the cold hard truth. It wasn't that he avoided it. For whatever reason, it was denied to him by those he trusted and cared for most. A lesser man would have been bitter. A lesser man would have resented his father and all the hard work he put him through during his childhood. Except Kurt was not a lesser man. He was stronger than that.

"Father…I still have faith," he said to the rosemary beads.

_In wake of zhe incident, zhe Azazel trained me even harder. However, my father never forgot about maintaining balance. As he pushed me harder, he gave me more reasons not to disappoint him. Around zhis time, he and my mother revealed to me zhat I had an adopted sister. Her name was Marie Anna Darkholme and she vas zhe reason vhy my mother vas around only sparingly throughout my childhood._

_Her story vas a complicated one. She did not know who her real parents were. However, some of my father's worst enemies vanted her. Zhat's vhen Mystique rescued her and moved vith her to a small town in America, adopting her as her own daughter. Like me, she vas cut off from zhe world. Only for her, it wasn't because of her appearance. Zhey had to protect her from zhe enemies of zhe Azazel. To keep her spirits up, my mother and father encouraged me to write letters to her. At times ve even got to speak on zhe phone. Ve quickly became close friends. She vas my link to zhe outside vorld and I vas her link as vell. It vas a powerful reminder zhat I must balance strength vith spirit. It came in very handy as I made zhe transition from boy to man._

_By zhe time I was eight-years-old my teleportation powers manifested. I'm told it vas part of my mutation, courtesy of my mother's X-gene. However, some mystical elements may have been taken from my father as vell. His ability vas similar to mine in zhat ve could phase in and out of dimensional planes to appear in new areas. It certainly made training vith him more interesting because he refused to rest until I had mastered my ability as vell as he had mastered his. Zhat training paid off over time because by age 13, I vas routinely defeating zhe best mercenaries zhe Azazel had to offer. It seemed I would be ready to carry out vhatever mission my father had for me and not a moment too soon either. It vas also around zhis time zhat everything in zhe Azazel took a terrible turn._

Kurt closed his eyes and put away the rosemary beads. It wasn't fair that for all the faith he had in his father, it did not prevent fate from turning against them. That was one of the greatest shortcomings of faith. Hoping and believing for something did not stop outside forces from shaking his spirit to the core. In the dark world of mercenaries that he grew up in, there were plenty of enemies for organizations like the Azazel. Some were more powerful than others. Some found ways to hurt even men as powerful as his father.

_I started noticing it vhen my father began sending me on my first missions. Zhey were not terribly complicated missions. Most involved scouting, spying, and occasionally coordinating vith zhe Azazel's elite forces. Often vhen something vent wrong, it required some heavy fighting that usually involved bloodshed. I always tried to avoid zhat, but as I vent on more missions I noticed zhat things vere going wrong much more frequently. _

_Zhis vas somewhat strenuous on my soul. Even though I vas zhe son of Azazel and I vas supposed to be zhis strong fighter, zhe mercenary world was full of danger and bloodshed. It affected me in a vay I did not train for. Zhere vas a lot of killing, some of vhich I vas a part of. It vas all in zhe name of a cause my father had not revealed. Even if his reasons were good, I couldn't help but question vhat I vas doing._

_I vasn't under any illusions. I knew vhat ve vere doing vas illegal. Ve vere selling zhe services of soldiers to fight wars. Ve vere selling the services of assassins, body guards, and hit men. It vasn't for charity either. Zhe Azazel grew quite wealthy from their operations. Like any black market, there is much to be gained zhe only vay to settle disputes among rivals is through violence. Unlike our rivals, my father did have lines he wouldn't cross. He vould not slaughter innocents. He vould not take part in ethnic cleansing or genocide. He rubbed shoulders vith plenty of unsavory people, but always within zhe context of balance. My only refuge vas my faith._

_This worked well for years. Then within zhe span of a few years, everything changed. Zhe Azazel was being pressured on all fronts. Our enemies were growing stronger. Groups like the Hand were able to hit us vith more frequency and efficiency. We weren't quite sure vhy this vas, but my father suspected someone new rose to power from within the mercenary underworld…someone who vas very well-connected and very talented in zhe mystic arts. Zhey vorked vith some very unsavory people like Black Tom Cassidy to destroy my father's operations, cut off his resources, and decimate our manpower. I saw too many good people die. The mercenaries who swore themselves to zhe Azazel did so vith religious devotion and zhey paid zhe price for their faith. They had faith zhat my father knew vhat he was doing. I only vish such faith was rewarded._

_It all came crashing down on shortly after I turned 15. My father had consolidated his remaining resources in a stronghold near Munich. Now zhat I vas old enough, he promised to tell me and my mother zhe purpose of his mission. He said he vould reveal everything and it vould all make sense. I trusted him. My mother trusted him. He sent zhe both of us to a safe house vith his elite guard while he cleared zhe vay for our escape. To zhis day I don't know if he knew he vasn't going to make it. All I do know is zhat Black Tom vas vaiting for him. Vhen their forces clashed, Baron Christian Wagner died and Azazel vas lost._

A solemn feeling came over Kurt. Yet he shed no tears. His father taught him not to shed tears over that which he had no control over. That didn't make the loss any easier to deal with. The rest of the Azazel lost a leader and a visionary. He lost all that and a father. Even worse, he never got a chance to learn the truth.

It was a loss that plagued Kurt Wagner in so many ways. He came of age within the Azazel despite having so many questions. Now it seemed those questions would never be answered. All those doubts he harbored during those early missions would linger. It seemed the only thing he could do at this point was pray that whatever happened to his father, it happened for a reason.

"I'm sorry ve never finished my training, father," he said into the night, "You always said zhat I vas destined for great zhings…zhat somehow I would be zhe key towards maintaining zhe balance you were fighting to uphold. I still believe you. I just wish I knew vhat it vas you were up against. Vhy couldn't you tell me?"

Kurt asked this question as if somehow his father was listening to him through the darkened haze of night. He always told him that Limbo was a realm closely connected to this world. If his father was still alive in Limbo then maybe he could hear him. Even if he couldn't answer, he needed to connect with Azazel in some way to draw the strength he needed. That strength sure would have helped in the difficult times that followed his loss.

_I vish I could say I vas part of his last stand. For once he cared more about my well-being zhan me showing my strength. I don't know all zhe details. Vhat I do know is my father did not go down vithout a fight. While my mother and I escaped, he issued an order that has since come to be known as Plan X. He sent a message to every Azazel cell in zhe world and had zhem launch simultaneous strikes against our rivals including the Hand. It was bloody and violent. Nobody knows for sure how many died. Vhat's even more remarkable is it all happened very covertly. It did not make zhe news. It barely garnered a whisper from the authorities. By zhe time it vas over, zhe entire mercenary underworld was in ruin._

_My father didn't just make his death come at a high price. He made sure every one of his rivals was crippled, even if it vas only temporary. This vay his family vould not be easy targets. He believed zhat his mission would carry on through me, Rogue, and Mystique. I certainly didn't share zhat believe because he never got zhe chance to share zhe details of his mission. It was frustrating, especially for a 15-year-old. My mother vas even more furious. Even though she never loved my father zhe same vay he loved her, it still mattered that she lost this man. It mattered to me too. She vanted to find those responsible and make them pay. I vanted zhat too and allowed myself to be foolish in zhe process._

_It vasn't enough to just go into hiding vhile Mystique vent after vhat vas left of zhe Azazel's enemies. Originally, she vanted me to move to Mississippi vith Rogue. She said I vould be safe there. But I didn't vant to be safe. My father taught me to be stronger. He taught me to fight back. So I defied my mother, striking out on my own and assembling vhatever vas left of zhe Azazel. I used our few remaining contacts to track down the source of this attack. It led me to zhe Hand, who had never been fond of my father's organization. I heard zhey were caught up in some new operation. I thought I could attack them and honor my father's legacy. Zhe only zhing I honored zhat night vas zhe tradition of arrogant teenage boys making terrible decisions._

_It vas a disaster from the beginning. I thought ve were being stealthy, but I was so intent on attacking I blew my cover far too soon. If I had vaited I vould have seen zhat zhe Hand had hired outside help in the form of Deadpool, a mercenary so unstable my father compared him to a drunken man flying a nuclear missile. My Azazel comrades loyally followed me and zhey paid zhe price. Deadpool and the Hand surrounded them, took zhem out, and even revealed zhis operation had nothing to do vith my father. No one involved knew anything useful. I had basically vasted time and zhe lives of my father's loyal men. It was almost fitting that Deadpool got the better of me, trapping me in zhe church zhey had been running zheir operation from and setting it on fire._

_It vas by far zhe lowest part of my life. I had lost my father. I defied my mother. I betrayed the trust of my own Azazel brethren. I could not do anything right anymore. While lying in that church surrounded by flames, I honestly thought zhat God had turned against me. Zhen vhen it seemed my strength and my faith vould give way, God sent me an angel to rescue my soul._

_In fact, he sent two angels. One of zhem vas a woman named Margali Sefton, a practicing Wiccan who had zhe misfortune of being Deadpool's target zhat night. Zhe and her daughter had been captured and vere trapped. Despite my sorrow, I saved zhem. I had not forgotten zhe lessons my father taught me about justice. I vas also intent on not letting Deadpool and his goons win completely zhat night. So I teleported zhem to safety. Margali vas eternally grateful, but it vas her daughter…my second angel…zhat rescued me from my despair._

Kurt's sorrow turned to hope. His demeanor was lifted and he smiled proudly before the darkness of the night. Standing up from his perch, he reached into his pocket again and pulled out a picture from his wallet. It was an image depicting him and a beautiful girl right around his age. They were both smiling, happy, and content. He never would have guessed that this picture had been taken so soon after the death of his father. That was how powerful an affect this girl had on him.

"Amanda…mein herz und seele."

In German, that meant "my heart and soul." It was the perfect summery of how much this woman meant to him. She came into his life during his darkest hour and rescued his soul from the darkest abyss. After she entered his world, nothing would be the same.

_Amanda Sefton…zhe woman who captured my heart vhile saving my soul. For someone who looks like as inhuman as I do, she is practically a goddess. I'll never get over her first words to me. She had been knocked out during her abduction and she came to shortly after I got her and her mother to safety. I fully expected her to yell or scream in terror. Zhat's vhat people always did vhen zhey saw me. But not Amanda…she was special. She actually thought I vas an angel. If irony could be fully embodied in one moment, this vould be it. For all intents and purposes, I fell for her on zhe spot._

_It began for me a completely new life, one zhat vould be very different from that of zhe mercenary underworld. Amanda and her mother were alone and on zhe run just like me. Zhey had some very bad people looking for zhem and Margali wanted nothing more zhan to protect her daughter. Vhen I told her my story, she empathized completely. She and Amanda normally were not trusting in the slightest, but after I saved them I earned my chance. Zhey were going to set up a new life on a secluded farm in zhe heart of Germany. Vith it, zhey invited me to come vith them. _

_It promised to be remote, quiet, and peaceful. It sounded so nice, but I vas still hesitant. I still had a desire to avenge my father. Margali and Amanda vere able to convince me zhat seeking vengeance vas not going to do either of us any good. He vanted me to get away for a reason. It didn't seem right to fight needlessly for zhings I could not change. I didn't understand it. I didn't understand a lot of things. I just had to have faith zhat vhatever I decided, it vould be right in zhe vays zhat mattered. It officially revitalized my faith because I agreed to go vith zhe Seftons and walk away from zhe Azazel forever._

_It vas not an easy decision. Vhen I told my mother, she vas baffled. I get zhe sense she vas still very bitter about my father's death. It's hard to tell because she's such a bitter person to begin with. She claimed she vas vorking on a new vay for us to be together and be safe. She vanted me to be part of it. I refused. Since zhat new vay turned out to be Magneto, I'm glad I did. I gained so much more vith zhe Seftons zhan I ever thought possible._

_Zhis period in my life was a time of healing. My soul and my faith were rebuilt vith each passing day in this new, simpler life. I showed my gratitude for the Seftons by helping them establish their new farm. I even gathered funds from my father's old accounts to ensure everything vas in order. Zhere vas no public record of us or our identities in zhis place. Ve had no obligations, financial or otherwise, to anyone. Ve vere completely hidden in eyes of the public, but never once did ve feel lonely._

_It vas also during zhis time zhat my love vith Amanda blossomed. I made no secret early on how smitten I vas vith her. It vasn't nearly as easy for her. She vas quite shy, not looking to get too close to me or to anybody for zhat matter. Yet she never feared me. She never looked at me with disgust or distaste. I vas just a boy who saved her and her mother. I quickly vent from savior to trusted friend, but it didn't stop there. It couldn't. She vas drawn to me as much as I vas drawn to her. Vhen I let her into my world, sharing vith her all my darkest secrets, she opened her heart and never looked back. Before long I was more zhan a friend. I vas her lover._

His smile widened as Kurt kissed the picture and put it away. Just thinking about Amanda was enough to set his wary mind at ease. It was amazing to think that a man who grew up in the shady world of mercenaries could love someone so completely. He didn't just love Amanda. She loved him back, fur and all. She didn't just accept his appearance. She embraced it. She never showed an ounce of revulsion, giving to him all the love and intimacy a fragile soul like his desired.

_I still remember zhe first night ve made love. I tried to go into it vith zhe same strength my father instilled in me, but winning a fight and being intimate vith a beautiful woman are two very different things. I probably made a fool of myself, but Amanda never hesitated. She embraced me vith zhe same passion as I embraced her. She held onto me as if I vas her angel just as much as she vas mine. It only grew from zhat moment on._

_Being vith Amanda vas nothing short of amazing. She made me strong in a whole new way. Her love vas something I never could have gotten vith zhe Azazel. I know my mother and father loved me, but zhat love had to be conveyed subtly so as not to show weakness. Vith Amanda, I let it all come out. I never missed an opportunity to remind her how much she meant to me. It may seem like naïve youthful love, but I know zhis vas special. I had complete faith zhat zhis vas it. Zhis vas zhe one. _

_Amanda came to share zhat same faith vith me. She vould later tell me zhat she never thought she could ever be close to anyone but her mother. I proved her wrong. I showed I could be zhe kind of man who could stare darkness in the face and not falter. I could stand and fight as strongly as I could love and cherish. I astonished her with my spirit and being a spiritual person herself, she connected vith me on every conceivable level._

_Yet our love vas not vithout complications. Even though ve lived a simple life on a farm togther, zhere vas one issue zhat ve never confronted. Amanda and her mother never explained to me vhy they vere hiding and who they vere hiding from. They only told me zhat zhey vere guarding a secret. It vas a secret so powerful zhat it had been handed down from generations of Seftons and if anyone were to find out, it could cause unspeakable destruction. I wanted to believe zhat Amanda vas merely exaggerating. I wanted even more for her to trust me enough to tell me. That way I could help her. But time and again, she refused. She always got worked up vhenever it entered zhe conversation so I avoided it as much as I could. I vould be lying if I said it didn't bother me. Again, I vould have to have faith zhat Amanda had good reasons for not telling._

_All complications aside, I lived vith zhe Seftons peacefully for three years. It vas a happy time, but it vas not perfect. I felt…uneasy being in such an uneventful environment. My father had trained me since birth to fight. He believed zhat I vas destined for greater zhings. I had found so much peace vith Amanda and her mother. I vanted to be vith her and love her, but I always felt zhere vas so much more I could do for zhis world. For everything I did vith zhe Azazel, I needed to do more for zhe good of my soul. I vas never sure vhere to start. I had to have faith zhat somehow a new opportunity vould be revealed to me. Zhis time, my faith vas rewarded._

Kurt folded his arms and shook his head in amazement. Going from the Azazel to living with the Seftons was a radical shift. Going from the Seftons to the X-men almost felt overdue in the sense it came so naturally. Standing atop this elegant mansion, this place had quickly become another home for him. It wasn't just because his sister was here. It really did feel like this was where he belonged. This was where he could put the lessons he learned from his father and Amanda to the best possible use.

_It's uncanny how elegantly fate unfolds even when it begins vith such turmoil. I certainly wish my introduction to zhe X-men had gone smoother. Being captured by Black Tom and blackmailed into stealing sentinel plans for him vas anything but pleasant. But out of that conflict, my path crossed with Rogue once again. I hadn't spoken to her in quite some time and she had done a lot with herself, joining the X-men and becoming a full fledged hero. My mother vas still rough around zhe edges to say the very least. While it vas nice to see my family come to me in my time of need, Mystique is still conflicted and bitter. Rogue does vhat she does for all zhe right reasons so vhen zhe time came to make a decision about my future, it vas by far the easiest difficult choice I've had to make._

_It did not come vithout a price. Joining zhe X-men meant leaving Amanda and her mother in Germany. I get zhe sense zhat Amanda thought I vas falling into old habits, running off and fighting zhese battles that I had worked so hard to escape. I convinced her zhat zhis vas different. Zhis vas a better fight for me to take part in. I had so many gifts granted to me by my heritage that it vould be selfish if I did not use zhem for zhe benefit of zhe world. Having always struggled vith conflict and doubt about my future, zhe X-men felt like a certainty I could grasp. Zhere vere no secrets and not ambiguity. I knew vhat I vas fighting for and zhe only faith I had to have was zhe faith in knowing it vas right._

_Since joining zhe X-men, my faith has only been strengthened. I've taken part in some truly epic battles. I've helped save zhe world from a killer asteroid. I confronted a mad geneticist who goes by zhe appropriate name, Sinister. I've taken on people like zhe Friends of Humanity who embody all zhe ignorance and hatred zhat stands so opposed to everything I've come to hold dear. Zhere have been missteps along zhe vay, but I have no regrets. I believe in vhat Professor Xavier is doing and vish to fight for his dream in zhe same vay I once did for my father._

_The thought of my family legacy is never far from my mind. I know I still embody zhe spirit of zhe Azazel. But vith zhe X-men, my family has taken on a new role. While Mystique may still be a complicated part of my life, I have been able to build a special relationship with Rogue. She has certainly needed a brother to lean on since losing her ability to touch again. She's still quite a character, much more so zhan her old letters would indicate. It still does not sit right vhen I see her and Remy together. But I have my sister and I have a home zhat I'm proud of. I like to zhink zhat if my father vas still alive, he vould be proud too. _

_It's something I try not to zhink about. The Azazel are in zhe past and zhe X-men are in zhe present. Vhatever secrets my father had disappeared vhen he did. Otherwise the remnants of his enemies vould have come after me and Rogue by now. I don't vant to say zhat it's over. Mystique certainly believes it isn't. In this I am not sure vhat to believe. I suppose zhat's zhe one area vhere my faith is still fragile._

A brisk wind blew over the mansion and Kurt hugged his shoulders for a moment. He was soon consumed with a renewed sense of conflict. Even though he had come so far with the Seftons and the X-men, there were still a number of burning questions that remained unanswered. They were questions that were too big to ignore. So much of his life had been guided by them and his inability to obtain the answers. It may have been possible to grow comfortable with such ignorance, but then came the recent clash with the Shadowkings. Now this lifelong conflict seemed more relevant than ever.

_It troubles me now more zhan ever. I almost had zhe answers in my grasp. Against zhe Shadowkings, my mother found my father's lost diary zhat promised to finally reveal his secrets. Who knows vhat vas written in zhose pages? Vhatever it vas, my father's mission remains a mystery because for once zhe X-men failed to do zhe right thing._

_It's zhe first time in many years vhere I felt I vas on zhe wrong side. Even though ve had no vay of knowing Amhal Farouk's plan, ve had our opportunities to change zhe outcome. I could have listened to my mother and helped her. But she had done so much to damage my faith in her, how could I? It's like zhe old story of zhe boy who cried wolf. When zhe time came for zhe boy to be right, his words were not heeded and a high price was paid by all._

_It's hard to express zhis feeling to zhe others. I can't even discuss it vith Rogue beyond a certain point. My whole life has been burdened by zhese vast secrets. There are zhe secrets my father kept about his mission. There are zhe secrets Amanda and her mother keep from me about vhy zhey must live in isolation. My mother does not seem nearly as content vith ignorance as me so she runs off to fight her own battles, trying to uncover the secrets for herself. I can condemn her methods, but not her mission. A part of me actually hopes she succeeds even though I know she'll do plenty of damage to herself and her soul in zhe process. Is this regression on my part? Am I wrong for wanting to know the truth?_

_I just don't know anymore. I used to believe I couldn't know because zhe Azazel is gone and my life is vith zhe X-men now. My mother is proving that zhis may not be zhe case. Perhaps I can know. Perhaps I will know one day. But that only poses a more daunting question. Vhat if zhe truth proves more damaging zhen a lifetime of ignorance? Vhat if it ends up destroying me and everything I love?_

While many of these morbid questions plagued the young mutant, the silence of the night was broken by the sound of a sharp gust of wind. Kurt was shaken for a moment before he looked up to see the source of the gust. It wasn't a mere act of nature. It was Rogue.

"Oh my…Rogue?" he said as she landed in front of him.

"Heya little brother," she greeted with a drowsy voice, "Nice night, huh?"

"Nice indeed," said Kurt with a accusatory tone, "Do you vish for me to point out how late it is or can ve skip zhat part?"

"What? You think you're the only one who occasionally visits club insomniac?" she said dryly, "Ah couldn't sleep okay? Ah'm a little more messed up than usual tonight."

"I vouldn't call it messed up. Zhen again you aren't zhe one vith a codename like Nightcrawler so I zhink I have a reason to be concerned."

Rogue smiled sheepishly. Kurt had a talent for reading her. If her demeanor didn't give her away, her appearance sure did. She had been out flying for what looked like hours if her messy hair was any indication. She had probably been out since before Kurt came up to the roof.

Playing the role of a concerned brother, Kurt reached out and placed a hand on Rogue's shoulder. She was never one to vent issues that were really personal. She was forward with a lot of things, but there were a handful of subjects she rushed to avoid. Kurt knew each one of these subjects and it wasn't hard to figure out which was bothering her.

"I take it you're thinking about our loving mother just as much as I am," Kurt pointed out.

"Why do Ah even bother trying to hide it?" she sighed, "Don't tell me it ain't buggin' you too."

"How could it not? While I don't have as many reasons to resent her, she's still our mother. She'll always find a way to influence our lives."

"And it's so unfair it makes meh wanna hurl."

Rogue turned away, hiding a tired yawn and not doing a very good job of it either. Kurt offered her a comforting smile. Rogue was never one to have the kind of faith that he did. She was cynical by nature and when something came along that directly attacked that cynicism, it affected her greatly.

"Come now, mien sister. It can't be too sickening to learn our mother is capable of doing zhe right thing," Kurt pointed out, "If anything, ve should be relieved. For once, she was on the right side of a conflict. She was trying to recover my father's dairy and stop Farouk from hiding the truth. We vere zhe fools zhis time. We must accept that."

"It ain't us being the bad guys that bugs meh, Kurt," she said distantly, "What Ah can't get over is Mystique actually doing something noble. For years Ah've seen her do nothing but wrong from leaving meh with Irene to helpin' Magneto. For her to up and do something decent for a change is…unsettling."

"I think you're not giving our mother enough credit. Granted, she does have a lot to make up for and I'm not ready to overlook everything shells done either. But at zhe very least ve should take comfort in zhe knowledge zhat she is not beyond redemption."

"Ah know. Ah sure that makes meh a lousy daughter for not realizing that."

"No it doesn't. It just means you have more healthy skepticism zhan me," Kurt argued.

"Jeez, do you always have to put a positive spin on every cynical comment Ah make?" said Rogue half-jokingly.

"Of course," he retorted with another smile, "You're my sister and Mystique is our mother. Since neither of you seem to have any faith in one another, zhat means I have to have enough to cover you both. Even if it annoys you, I von't stop. And neither should you."

Rogue was still tired and bemused, but Kurt's continued smile seemed to ease her troubled soul. She said nothing more in the silence of the night. There was no way to respond. She knew better than anybody that there was nothing that could shake Kurt's faith. She may not be able to share it, but she could always take comfort in it. Needing that comfort now more than ever, she pulled her brother into a light hug. Kurt kindly returned the gesture, his smile never waning.

_I struggle vith so many questions about my past and my future. I vill probably keep struggling even if I have to vait years for a definitive answer. For now, I have to keep moving forward. I have to keep having faith. My mother and my sister are depending on me. It gets harder vith each passing day, but I take comfort in the knowledge zhat I am a man of faith. Either by my own merits or because of how I vas brought up, I continue to believe. _

_Like my father once taught me, whenever something becomes harder the weak get weaker and the strong get stronger. That is vhy I keep going. My faith is my strength and my strength is my faith. This way if and vhen zhe answers finally do come out, I'll be ready to face them and all zhe challenges they bring._

* * *

**Up next: President Robert Kelly  
**


	3. President Robert Kelly

**Supreme Reflections  
President Robert Kelly**

* * *

**President Robert Kelly's Reflections (AN: Takes place after issue 71)**

It was a day every politician dreamed of experiencing. It was a moment children from a young age fantasize about. In one moment a name becomes permanently etched in the annuls of history. One person enters a realm only a handful of uniquely qualified individuals have ventured. It all came together in a simple message that blared all throughout the world.

"The next president of the United States has been elected. The votes are in and Senator Robert Kelly has won."

It sparked cheers from some and dread from others. For everybody in Robert Kelly's inner circle, it should have been all cheers. He had done it. He completed what he set out to do. He went from an obscure senator whose only claim to fame were a string of sound bytes regarding the dangers of the growing mutant menace to being the leader of the free world. It was a historic ascension in the political history of the Western world. Now he had the power to carry out all the plans he never had the authority to implement. With the stroke of a pen, he could exert immediate change on the current state of mutant affairs. A mere 24 hours ago he would have been ready to do so. Then something unexpected happened…something that would change all those plans he was once so passionate about.

_When you are in any contest you should work as if there were a chance to lose it. The late Dwight D. Eisenhower said those words at a time when he had the popularity of being a war hero and a two-term presidency going for him. He also has been quoted as saying any man who wants to be president is either an egomaniac or crazy. He may have been right on both counts. It's that kind of twisted logic that makes Eisenhower my favorite president._

_Now I'll have to come up with a whole new list of idioms to compete with that. In a mere two months I'll be sitting in the same chair the likes of Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and Lincoln sat in. I'll be expected to lead a country that's in desperate need of leadership. I've got the weight of the world and the weight of history bearing down on me. I thought I was ready for it. I was literally foaming at the mouth for this opportunity. Then this happened. My world has been turned upside down in a ways where I can't even partake in the celebrations downstairs._

It was a less than triumphant feeling. He knew full well that down below in the ballroom of his hotel his entire team was still celebrating, drinking champagne and cheering as the news spread of his big win. In a much saner world we would have been down there with them shaking hands and smiling for the cameras. Instead, he was upstairs in his hotel suite watching over his son as he slept after a very difficult and very traumatic day.

He hadn't left his side all night. Even after the news of his victory was confirmed, the president elect needed to stay with his son. What happened to him had seriously complicated his world. On the eve of the election, he and his family were taken captive by the ruler of Genosha, Magneto. He planned on using this machine of his to turn him, his wife, and two children into mutants. This way he would have to live with the burden he had spent years labeling a menace. He was lucky in that the X-men were able to come in and rescue him. His son, however, did not share in that luck.

"I'm so sorry, son," said the president elect through the silence of his historic night.

His son was fast asleep, having been utterly drained from the events of the past few days. Only it wasn't just the election that left him so tired. Unlike the rest of the family, he was unable to escape Magneto's clutches in time. That madman succeeded in turning him into a mutant. Now he wasn't the same beaming boy with such a sunny smile and lively eyes. Now he was a scared, confused young child with spongy gray skin and a cold watery complexion.

It was hard to wrap his head around even for a man who hadn't just been elected president. His son was a mutant. As such he would never have a normal life. On top of that, every decision he made on mutant related issues from here on out was going to affect him and his family directly. He could no longer attack mutants without attacking his son. It was a cruel twist of fate, not to mention a harsh slap in the face by Magneto. As if he didn't have enough reasons to despite that man, now he had essentially ruined his son's life and made his much more difficult as a father and a president.

_Damn you, Magneto. Damn you for striking me where it hurts the most…my family. It wasn't enough that you tried to wipe the entire human race out with your own brand of mass extinction. You had to make it personal. You had to make my son another pawn in your agenda. Now here I am worrying endlessly while my wife and daughter are downstairs managing the festivities. I should be with them, smiling for the cameras and being part of all sorts of pictures that will one day be part of history books. But I can't. So much has changed and much more will have to change._

_No matter how much I hate Magneto, what's done is done. He wanted to give me a taste of empathy and he succeeded. My son is a mutant. He now embodies the very menace I've spent so many years fighting against. Because of this, I can't think and reason as I once did. I can't walk the same path anymore. Not without hurting my own family. The mutant issue is not so clear anymore and that could prove costly to all the promises I've made._

_It's always easier when the lines are clear and the choice is simple. Even if those lines are difficult to confront and those choices are hard to make, I prefer a world of clarity and not ambiguity. That's how I've conducted myself all my life, even before my political career. I'll take on the issues nobody wants to touch and I'll confront them in a way that resonates rather than alienates. That's what every great leader does and that's what I hope to keep doing._

_It's sure to be a lot of work, but I've never shied away from work. I wasn't born into a political class. I didn't have a last name like Kennedy, Roosevelt, or Bush. My parents were both hard-working, blue-collar people. We weren't poor, but the comfortable middle-class life we had was a result of hard work. My dad worked as a shipping manager and my mom was a skilled chef for this upscale restaurant in Albany. They both worked hard to get their share of the American dream and they certainly got it. They also made sure me and my siblings could appreciate it._

_My parents made it so we always had to work for something we wanted. If we wanted a toy, a book, or some candy we had to earn it. Sometimes it was a small thing like helping with the groceries or doing the dishes. Other times it was more elaborate. When I wanted this fancy new watch, my dad made me get a paper route and if I stuck to it for more than three months he would get it for me. Except by then I managed to save enough money to get the watch myself and I found that a lot more satisfying._

_I kept on working through school and college. I had the misfortune of going to a public school that had just come into a nasty gang problem. In the span of a few years the dropout rate and discipline issues soared. We even made the local news as being part of the most dramatic downturn in academic achievement in 40 years. I watched many of my peers get caught up with the wrong crowd, letting their grades slip and crossing all the wrong lines. I later learned that some of these gangs had mutants running the show, which was rare because mutants weren't very well-known at the time. I'm not exactly sure what powers they had, but for many reasons that never sat well with me. If anything, it only motivated me to work harder._

_Like my parents, the work paid off. I graduated near the top of my class with an advanced diploma. I also got accepted on a limited scholarship to Cornell University. I never slowed down. I kept plunging ahead, ready to make something of myself. In a ways I'm glad my scholarship was limited because it meant I had to work my way through college. I told my parents early on that I didn't want them to give me financial support. They had the money, but I wanted to make my own way. They respected my decision. I'm pretty sure my dad almost cried tears of pride. Most kids that age will look for any loophole to get their parents to give them money. I had plenty in front of me, but that required me crossing certain lines that I refused to cross. I stuck to my guns. I worked hard and studied harder. It made me a better man._

_While I was working, I got my first lesson in politics. It happened at this rough job I had in a hardware store off campus. I pulled double duty as a stock boy and an overall grunt who could do plenty of heavy lifting. It was a pretty rough job, but the worst part by far was the heat. The manager of the store for whatever reason refused to fix the air conditioning or set up fans. He was always busy scrutinizing other things…small things that didn't affect us or the customers. By the end of one shift I would be sweating so much I looked like I just ran through a hurricane. My co-workers and I always complained about it, but we never to him. They were too scared. They didn't want to rock the boat._

_I was different. I wasn't going to keep ignoring it. So at our next team meeting, we went through the same routine. The manager lectured and everybody gave their reports. But at the end when we were just about to break, I raised my hand and asked the manager one simple question._

"_How come nobody wants to talk about the heat?"_

_I swear that manager looked at me like I had bats crawling out of my ear. I could see all my co-workers slowly backing away, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. They just watched as the manager came up to me, looked me in the eye, and said something I'll never forget._

"_Kid…you're new to this world called reality so let me give you a quick lesson they probably don't teach at your fancy school. There's a lot of complicated shit out there and only so many hours in the day. When you're smart enough to sift through that shit or powerful enough to add a few more hours to the day, call me! Otherwise, don't be a smartass and let me do my job!"_

_A lesser man would have cowered. This was someone who signed my checks and managed my role in this job. How could I oppose him? Well I didn't flinch. I didn't show any weakness. I just kept staring down my manager until he turned away and stormed back towards his office. My co-workers were too stunned to say anything. Some looked at me with admiration. Others looked at me as if I just shot my own hand off. I probably should have dropped it. Lord knows, most rational people would. But in this case, it pays to be a little brazen if not a little foolish._

_While my manager was off managing, I took some time from my schedule to see what the fuss was about regarding the air conditioning. The system was in bad shape and it looked like it needed some serious repairs. Lucky for me, I worked in a hardware store. I had all the parts I needed. So over the course of the week, I fixed it. My dad was a real handyman so his teachings really paid off. Eventually, I got it working. I even took a few old fans that had been gathering dust in the storage room, fixed them as well, and set them up throughout the store in a ways to generate a cooling cross breeze._

_All this came as a pleasant surprise to my co-workers. I remember them walking into work and seeing their faces literally freeze when they felt that the air wasn't as stale as a swamp in the tropics. Even the customers took note and they actually thanked us for making the place a more bearable. It seemed like everybody had benefited. Then I heard that voice again._

"_ROBBY!"_

_That's what my manager called me. As soon as he came walking in that morning, he ran up to me and literally cornered me at the front end of the store. He spent the next twenty minutes chewing me out for going behind his back and fixing something that he couldn't. He went off on all these rants about how the air conditioning was a complicated system that needed a certified technician and special parts to repair. He yelled at me even more for using parts within the store. For all he knew, I just pieced it together with duct tape and chewing gum. The man looked ready to have a heart attack. Finally, he got to the point where he asked me how we were going to deal with this now and in the future. I had two words for him that rendered everything he just said meaningless._

"_I quit."_

_I've never seen a man shut up so quickly before or ever since. The man's eyes hung wide open for a full minute as I handed over my uniform and badge, gave him a smile, and walked out. The way I saw it, if he wasn't going to address the heat then why follow his example? Every one of my co-workers looked at me like I was Spartacus. Two of the girls who worked there ended up asking me out. That alone was worth the next few months I spent falling into debt. But that was the moment I got a taste of dealing with authority and immediately I was hooked._

_The very next day I changed majors from business and marketing to political science. I completely immersed myself in the world of politics. I even got myself elected to the student government. I found that there was an unspoken plague among all those in authority. There were some issues that people just avoided. It wasn't necessarily out of fear. It was sheer apathy or an utter lack of understanding. I found my niche in being able to confront those issues and resolve them. It got me started on the path I am now._

The president elect sighed and shifted his gaze away from his son. For a moment, this path he had chosen seemed costly. If he had not gotten into politics, perhaps his son wouldn't be dealing with the notion of being a mutant. Perhaps his wife wouldn't be crying herself to sleep lamenting on how her little boy was going to suffer. Perhaps the whole mutant issue would not dominate his life.

All those possibilities seemed pretty outlandish. Robert Kelly simply knew no other path. This wasn't just what he did. This was who he was. Because of this, his son was paying the price. He could not protect him as a father, a politician, or a president. Now his son would be the face of a menace that he had been trying to confront for years. It was a face that defined his cause and his principles.

_When I graduated Cornell with Suma Cum Laude honors, I had my pick of opportunities. I was shouldering some hefty school debt so I couldn't invest myself in the political process too much. The best option for me at the time was from my old home town in Albany. A position for school superintendent just opened up after the last one died unexpectedly. They needed someone to fill the void and a recent college graduate was cheaper on the city so I went with it._

_This job was my first taste of real politics. I had to deal with teachers, parents, student groups, and politicians on a regular basis. They didn't always take me seriously because of my youth. They thought I was just a fill in until the next election. But I showed them I could get the job done. I cracked down on the lingering gang problem and stood up to a number of city officials who were trying to cut the budget. But my biggest challenge came when the mutant issue entered my life in a profound way._

_There was this 17-year-old girl who went to my old high school that was secretly a mutant. She didn't have any physical abnormalities besides an unusual shade of blue for an eye-color. She knew she was a mutant and she knew what her powers entailed, but she didn't tell anybody. She probably should have because her powers involved secreting this noxious cocktail of gases from her skin. She didn't understand how it worked and knew it was dangerous. A few of her classmates learned just how dangerous she was on one fateful afternoon._

_She was in the middle of a test when out of nowhere, she starts feeling sick. While everyone else is none the wiser, she tries to get up and leave. But the teacher doesn't know what's going on so she stops her. That proved costly because the girl started erupting in these noxious bursts. Pretty soon the whole room was filled with this bluish/green gas that had everybody choking and gagging. It was so bad a biohazard team had to rush to the campus to get everyone out. The girl was fine, but fifteen of her classmates had to be hospitalized. Two were critical, ten suffered serious lung damage, and three more went temporarily blind. Nobody died, but it was a real mess that struck me personally because this was my home school and this is where my own children may end up going one day._

_For any other superintendent, this is a public nightmare. It was happening at a time when mutant incidents were gaining much more media coverage, but at that point there weren't many authority figures doing much about it. I bucked the trend. I came out that very day and confronted the media. I even confronted the girl as well. I placed the responsibility on her, not the school or the officials. She knew she was a mutant. She knew that her powers were dangerous. And she did nothing. What happened was a result of apathy and an unwillingness to be proactive. I implemented changes on the spot._

_First, I brought the girl up on charges for juvenile negligence. Now since there weren't too many laws on mutant crimes, I had to work extra. But I did get a judge to rule in my favor and the girl was punished for what she did. It was probably the first time a mutant was publicly punished for using their powers in such a way. I also enacted reforms throughout the schools, dictating that every mutant had to come forward and document what their powers were. It would then be up to myself and the board to determine if they were a danger to themselves or the school. This didn't earn me much support from the few mutants there were and the parents of those mutants, but when the district saw this they were enamored with my efforts. It put my political career on a rocket and launched it straight up._

_The first thing that happened was the superintendent who was supposed to take my spot was defeated in an election. I became the youngest man to ever hold the office of a superintendent. The second thing that happened was that during the media coverage, I came across a stunning young public relations officer who would later become my wife. Sharon and I became a team and I could tell she was deeply affected by the incident with the mutant. She and I had a common cause and our relationship blossomed from there._

_Over the next fifteen years I worked my way up through the political ranks. After serving as superintendent successfully, I ran for mayor of Albany and won quite easily. A few years later I moved up to the state level, earning myself a spot as lieutenant governor. At each level I used the mutant issue as my primary concern. I saw this as the number one issue going into the new millennium and with each passing day, I was vindicated. Fear of mutants was growing and so was the mutant population. Every news medium was blaring all these stories about mutants manifesting strange new powers and how authorities were powerless to stop them. I practically took that as a personal challenge._

_It helped that I got a lucky break at that point. Shortly after my wife and I got married, one of the senators for New York was caught up in this ridiculous scandal that involved a prostitute, a family member, three associates from some unpopular lobbying groups, and fifty million dollars in taxpayer money. The details were the stuff of Hollywood movies. In fact I think they may have already made one about it. Whatever the case, that senator had to resign and suddenly there was an open spot in the United States Senate._

_At first I wasn't sure it was a good idea. A few party officials talked me into it because they saw my mutant stance as being a good rallying cry. I wasn't stupid though. I knew those officials just wanted me to use that stance to get elected to they didn't lose the seat to another party. It's that unspoken rule in politics. Principles take a back seat to maintaining power. I didn't like that so few shared my passion for my cause, but it was too great an opportunity to pass up. So I took it. I ran for the Senate as this up and coming name. The race turned out to be a lot closer than I thought. Even parts of the public weren't too keen on confronting the mutant issue at this point. But again, I worked through it and won my seat in power. If only my struggle had ended there._

The president elect turned back towards his sleeping son. Sitting at the edge of his bed, he gently stroked his clammy face. He no longer had the warmth that a boy his age was supposed to have. His skin was clammy and wet, like that of a sponge. It was difficult to feel, but this was still the flesh of his little boy. This feeling really struck him because it was the birth of his children that really made him push harder. His whole political career was centered around protecting those most vulnerable, like his children, from the volatile nature of mutants. It was impossible to understate how much this issue meant to him.

_My first few years in the senate were unproductive to say the least. I became a pariah because I did something you're not supposed to do in Congress…confront the truth. To me that meant acting on the mutant issue sooner rather than later. Many politicians weren't willing to do that. Fear, a lack of understanding, and other priorities once again took precedent. My only option was to keep working and making sure I made good use of every opportunity that came my way._

_It's here where the sheer inefficiency of government becomes apparent. There is so much bureaucracy at this level you need five different forms just to scratch yourself. Mutants probably weren't even in the top 50 in terms of priority. I was the only one really pushing and I was essentially a pariah within Congress. I wasn't taken seriously and was somewhat a running joke among my peers. It would take more influence from the outside world to make those same critics stand up and listen._

_It started when mutants began organizing and outwardly flaunting their powers. There would be these public spectacles of mutants opposing any level of authority that tried to stop them from doing whatever they wanted to do. There was the formation of the Morlocks and the rise of powerful mutant communities. It suddenly became necessary for them to assert themselves as being better than humanity and somehow deserving of special treatment. Nobody was naïve enough to say they had a point, but nobody was valiant enough to confront them. That's where I came in._

_As the issue escalated, my voice was heard by more people. I suddenly wasn't a pariah anymore and many leaders were starting to take my message seriously. There are at least two hundred youtube clips of me on CSPAN giving speeches about the dangers of mutants. I argued it was the government and the people's right to confront those dangers…to force mutants to reveal their powers and let society judge if they're too dangerous to leave them to their own accord. This was the core of my now infamous Mutant Registration Act._

_I must have introduced this bill eight times in my career and I never once got it on the floor of the senate for a vote. In it there were all sorts of new laws and procedures that would process mutants the same way we process dangerous weapons. Each mutant had to be determined by the authorities whether or not they were a threat to anybody. If they were, we could determine a means by which to separate or contain them. Some called it a logistical nightmare. I called it a tough job that needed to be done._

_Nobody was willing to do the work. Nobody was willing to give it a chance. Even though my influence was growing, I wasn't getting the influence of those that mattered. Then the uprising on Genosha happened. Suddenly, mutants were no longer this festering social issue. They were an international force looking to impose themselves on the rest of the world. For a time I wanted to get behind Cameron Hodge and whatever this radical means of confronting mutants entailed. That was a mistake because I didn't take into account what an arrogant tool he was. I might have been able to get the Mutant Registration Act passed if I didn't have to constantly defend myself from that madman. However, the growing fear of mutants more than made up for it._

_Once mutants had their own country, their threat became unavoidable. Now it wasn't enough just to confront them on the local level. They had to be dealt with on an international scale. Suddenly, the president and the top generals of the military were seeking my counsel. It was a few decades too late in my opinion because it was the unwillingness to confront mutants early on that made the uprising on Genosha necessary. I still believe that at some point, this will be the stage for a war between humans and mutants. That war almost happened when Magneto unleashed his extinction plot. Even though that conflict was resolved, the threat was never addressed._

_This is what prompted me to throw my hat into the ring. The previous president took a massive hit when he capitulated to Magneto's request for peace. The man nearly brought the world to an end and at the last minute he has a change of heart, thus somehow absolving him and his kind from all responsibility. The way I see it, he took the easy way out. It would have been far too much work to keep fighting Magneto than to just stop the bloodshed and rebuild on the home front. History will remember this as the weakest moment in the history of the presidency…in the history of human politics. I was determined to change that. It ended up being much harder than I ever could have imagined._

_For a time, I was practically unopposed in my campaign. I could have read from the phone book on a few of my speeches and still got an applause. I was foolish to think it would be that easy. The public outcry from the extinction plot was severe, but there were other elements to oppose that sentiment. The one that plagued me most was Charles Xavier and his X-men._

The newly elected president struggled with conflicting feelings. Looking over his son, he could not escape the fact that the X-men had impacted his struggle for better and for worse. They were the ones that opposed him at every turn when he fought to confront mutants with his Mutant Registration Act. They were also the ones that put a stop to madmen like Magneto and saved his son.

Robert Kelly badly wanted to curse Charles Xavier, but how could he? Still stroking the face of his sleeping son, he was bitterly indebted to this man in more ways than he cared to admit.

_I never was all that fond of Xavier's agenda. He always came off as some bleeding heart, claiming that society should not judge mutants for being who they are. That argument may work for other minorities, but other minorities don't have the power to read minds and influence thoughts at will. There was never any chance that we were going to see eye-to-eye. I saw him as an obstacle, but he and his X-men just had to play the hero card._

_I remember when they first came onto the scene, they were just a bunch of masked heroes. They certainly made my job difficult because whenever I said mutants were a threat, someone would cite the X-men. When they took off the masks and started playing a larger role in mutant affairs, my job got even harder. There were too many who thought the X-men were heroes and they were giving mutants a better name than they deserved. The election only made that more apparent._

_It was the X-men that guided my fortunes. That incident in Philadelphia destroyed the momentum I had been carrying since Magneto's extinction plot. I never had that kind of support again. Then Xavier went on his media campaign and the polls shifted accordingly. There were a few times when it looked like my campaign was going to collapse under it's own weight. When I brought Reverend Stryker aboard, my fortunes got a little bit better. It was only after the Proteus incident in England that I gained a solid enough footing to make my election possible._

_I thought my victory would be the crowning achievement of all my hard work. I thought that overcoming all those detractors who avoided the issues I was so passionate about would be a defining moment. It was, but for all the wrong reasons. That victory still came at a price. My son was turned into a mutant. So even though I won the presidency, my passion for the mutant issue is shaken._

The newly elected president rose up from his son's bed and turned towards the window where the city was still bustling with activity on this historic night. This should have been the next step in his lifelong crusade. Robert Kelly was a man who never lost focus when he set his mind to something. He kept working hard, never questioning his cause or casting doubt on his merits. It would take something earth-shattering to shake him from his unflappable demeanor.

But something of that magnitude did happen. Magneto turned his son into a mutant. In addition, the X-men saved him and his family. He owed his very livelihood to the man he once saw as his enemy. Even for a man of his conviction, that struck him in a profound way.

_In any issue on the state of human affairs, it's important for the people in power to remain objective. That's why we have impartial juries and dispassionate judges who are expected to be swayed by evidence and not emotional appeals. That's how I once confronted the mutant issue. It was cold hard logic. Mutants had dangerous powers and it was the obligations of the state to protect innocent humans from those powers. Now I can't afford the luxury of cold logic. I now have an emotional stake in this struggle._

_It's a struggle none of my supporters understand. Reverend Stryker has been a real pain so far. He's intent on staying the course as if what happened to my son doesn't matter. He's not a father so he doesn't see how impossible that is for me. I can no longer see mutants in such a callous light. How can I when my own son is a mutant? All those plans I had for dealing with mutants…I can't be so brazen about it anymore. Not when my son could be deeply affected._

_That's what's been bothering me most. I thought I knew what had to be done with mutants. I thought the time for being careful and calculating was over. The world needed action. Now I have to be careful. I have to consider every angle no matter how much it frustrates me. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. All those promises I made in the campaign hinge on my ability to work through this. It may hinder me or it may help me. Whatever it does, I still despise Magneto with every fiber of my being. He may have succeeded on some levels, but I'm not going to let that stop me._

_I've been lucky so far. Professor Charles Xavier, a man who I still have mixed feelings about, actually went out of his way to help my son. He was kind enough to give him a quick check-up, explain his mutation, and even offer a few lessons on how to manage it. My people are still taking care of the public fallout. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, my son was born a mutant and his powers just started manifesting. It's a lie, I know. But that's how politics works. You need lies in order to preserve society. It's only a matter of limiting those lies for the sake of strengthening the truth._

_In a few months I'll have to wrestle with many decisions. I'll have to deal with all these conflicting emotions while working to keep my promises on mutant affairs. I don't know what form they'll take. I don't know how they'll change as a result of my son. All I know is that I'm going to work as hard as I've always worked. If I have to keep struggling, so be it. If I have to rub people the wrong way, so be it. The people elected me and as Harry Truman once said, the buck stops here and that's how it's going to be for the next four years. The call of history has reached me and I accept the responsibilities. For every human out there and mutants like my son, I will do what needs to be done._

The soon-to-be president, Robert Kelly, took a deep breath before tucking his son back in for the night. He then quietly slipped out of the room, leaving him in the care of his body guards who were waiting outside. Before leaving the suite, he fixed his suit and tie. It was late, but there was still time for him to join the festivities. He had to if he was going to come off as being truly presidential. It was going to be hard, but now he had factors to account for that he never imagined. That was the burden of this most rare of opportunities and he was going to bear it. When he left the room, he left with only one fitting prayer.

'_God bless America…please.'_

* * *

**Up next: Alex Summers  
**


	4. Alex Summers

**Supreme Reflections  
Alex Summers**

* * *

**Alex's Reflections (AN: Takes place after issue 57)**

_There are only two kinds of people in this world…those who stand and fight and those who turn the other cheek and submit. I've only dealt with one of those kinds in my life so I don't much care for the other. I am and always have been a fighter. Even if I haven't always been that strong, I stand up and fight. It's not always a fight with my fists or even a fight with my powers. Fights take on many forms and shapes. I'm still a teenager and I've probably seen them all. The only reason I'm still alive and doing something what my life is because I've never yielded. I've always stood my ground. From head to toe, I am a fighter whether the people around me like it or not._

Alex Summers was in a foul mood and in need of some peace and quiet. On a volatile nation like Genosha, that was pretty hard to come by. Magneto's citadel offered some reprieve, but even in a structure this size it was difficult to find a place to gather his thoughts. The only place he could find that allowed him to be completely alone was the roof just below where the transport orbs were stored. Rather than risk losing his temper around the other Brotherhood members, he came here to cool off.

The young mutant was fuming. A mere 24 hours ago he took part in his first mission with the Brotherhood. Magneto entrusted him to be the leader they had been sorely lacking. He was supposed to make them better fighters so they could take on the seemingly endless challenges of turning Genosha into a powerful mutant nation. The first of those challenges was taking on the grossly illegal military raids the naval blockade had been running. That fight was easy enough, but it was the fight against the X-men that really got Alex worked up. It wasn't just because they got in the way. It was very personal to him and not just because his older brother was leading them.

_Damn you, Scott. You always tried to fight my battles for me. You and everyone else who thought I was too young and too weak to hold my own. I get that I'm still a teenager. The most fighting kids my age do takes place on message boards and Facebook. Taking on a hostile world in the midst of a human/mutant conflict does seem out of my league. But I can rise to the challenge. I'm stronger than people give me credit for._

_I come from a long line of fighters. My father was a military man and his father before his father was a military man. These are the kinds of people who are born and bred to fight. They don't run away from a challenge. I had to learn that lesson at a young age. I don't have the luxury of remembering a whole lot about my life on the military base with my parents. What few memories I have involve seeing how everybody around my father was always prepared. The moment the order came in, they were ready to fight. That stuck out for me more than all those other little intricacies. For whatever reason, Scott took to the whole discipline act. It sure didn't make him the nicest guy to be around. I can't remember too many times during that period when I didn't think he was a jerk._

_We probably would have developed quite the sibling rivalry, but then came that night that pretty much destroyed any hope of a stable life for me or my brother. It still sticks out in my memory, even if it is a little vague. I was so young at the time…young and weak. All I remember was sitting in the back of my dad's private plane. I don't know where we were going or why we were going there. The only part where my memory gets really clear was when we hit some turbulence that felt like the world's worst roller coaster. Then came the smoke and the fire. The next thing I know my mom and dad are running into the back and pulling me and Scott out of our seats, saying we have to escape._

_I couldn't really understand what was going on. All I knew was that this was bad. Me being the youngest, my dad gave Scott the instructions while he and my mother strapped parachutes to our backs. I was too weak. I just started crying for no reason. I cried because I was scared. I knew something bad was going to happen. I just didn't know what. I don't think it really dawned on me until my dad opened the door and I felt that cold air come rushing in. Looking down, I really didn't see anything other than darkness. It was like jumping into the pits of hell._

_I didn't have a say in anything. My parents told me and Scott we had to jump and Scott was supposed to protect me. I was completely helpless. All I could do was close my eyes and hang on. I don't even remember jumping. I just remember feeling this blinding blast of hair blow across my face. Then I remember hearing this loud bang. I know now it was the plane. It was gone and so were my parents. But I didn't have time to cry or mourn. Scott and I were still falling through the night sky. I was so terrified I practically froze. Scott had to pull the chords to the parachutes. He was able to fight through the fear and I wasn't. I had felt weak and helpless before, but never like that._

Alex held his head low, consumed by both anger and sorrow. The loss of his parents was hard enough. Being so young, that moment stuck out in his mind as the most vivid memory of his youth. At least Scott had the luxury of being a few years older. He had time to make other memories that could buffer the agony of that moment. He had no such luck. The memories of his childhood began and ended with the plane crash that left them orphaned.

Almost as traumatic as the loss, there was also that feeling of sheer helplessness. He may have been only five-years-old at the time, but he was still old enough to feel weak. That was something that didn't sit well with anybody, man or child. He was alone and vulnerable, unable to fight back. He was too paralyzed by fear and sorrow. It would have been bad enough if the plane crash was all he had to deal with. The tragedy just kept unfolding, leaving even deeper scars that had yet to heal.

_It would have been somewhat bearable if this was where the nightmare ended. Unlike Scott, I was called in for overtime. He had the miserable luck of being knocked out because his parachute caught fire. His landing was rough while mine was just bumpy. I don't know where the hell we landed. It may have been deep in the woods or just some park in the middle of nowhere. Wherever it was, it felt like hell. It was so dark, so cold, and so scary I felt like I was still falling even after I landed._

_Being young and full of fear, my first instinct wasn't to fight back. It was to find my family. My parents were gone and the only one I had left was Scott. So I did my best to look for him. I ran off blindly and foolishly into the darkness. I could have been running in the opposite direction for all I know. I didn't care. That's what fear does to you. It makes you stop thinking and it robs you of any strength you may have had. By the time I did find Scott my little body was about to give out. I thought finding him would make everything just a little bit better. Turns out, I was dead wrong._

_If I wasn't scared before, I was damn near petrified at that point. When I first saw Scott, I thought he was dead. He was lying under a tree, this bloody wound gushing from his head. I was so paralyzed I didn't even bother to check if he was still breathing. I ended up doing what pretty much every five-year-old would do. I cried. I cried and I cried, praying that this was some kind of nightmare and I would wake up in my warm bed back home at any minute. I curled up in a fetal position next to my brother and did everything I could to shut it all out. _

_I was probably there for hours because it felt like an eternity. At some point all that fear and terror numbs you up. You reach a point where you're no longer capable of processing any more fear. You cry so much you run out of tears. I really thought I had lost it. I really thought it was over for me. That's not an easy thing for a young kid to process. Once you get to that point any fear you feel afterwards is kind of trivial._

_By the time someone did find me, I had long since passed that point. It turns out my dad let out a distress call from the plane before this whole nightmare unfolded and rescue teams came looking for us. When they found me and Scott, I was pretty much out of it. They took us both to a nearby hospital where they gave me a few band-aids while Scott fell into a coma. I was still so paralyzed I didn't even know what that meant. All I knew was that it was pretty bad. Except at that point something being bad was all relative._

_He'll never admit it now, but Scott had it easy. He was in that coma for months and I was wide awake, living every terrible moment of this loss on my own. I basically lived at the hospital all that time. My days consisted of waking up, spending time with my brother, eating a few meals, and then going back to sleep. A lot of crazy things run through the head of a five-year-old when his parents are dead and the big brother who was supposed to protect him is hanging on by the skin of his teeth. The strange part about that time was I never cried. I didn't shed a single tear. I couldn't anymore. I had cried a lifetime of tears in the span of a single night. _

_There was no more room for fear and sorrow. If I was going to move on, I had to follow my father's example and be strong. That meant from that point forward, I couldn't be afraid. I had to stand and fight. Nobody was going to protect me. I couldn't rely on anybody, not even my own brother. That more than anything sent me down this path I'm on now and despite the many flaws I encountered, I've never looked back._

Alex rose up from his saddened state and stood strong in the face of such frustrations. He had a lifetime of struggle bearing down on him. Nothing came easy for him after the death of his parents. He never knew a life without loss and hardship. The faint memories of his parents were too distant to have the impact they needed. He was a kid who had to raise himself and he did so by being a fighter every step of the way.

_When Scott finally awoke from his coma, there was already another challenge before me. Since there was no telling how injured my older brother was at the time, the state wanted to separate us. I was perfectly healthy even if I was traumatized and the social worker assigned to our case wanted to get me into a foster home. This time I didn't stand for it. I fought back, saying I wasn't going to leave my brother. He was family and that was it. At one point they tried to drag me away. I kept on fighting, but not with your typical kicking and screaming. I actually bit the social worker and poked her in the eye. That left such an impact the social worker quit our case and let someone else take over. This time it was someone smart enough to keep me and Scott together._

_My brother proved pretty damn tough and made a full recovery…physically anyways. Once the hospital cleared him, an old army friend of my dad's had us taken to this special orphanage in New York City for the children of veterans. It wasn't your typical orphanage at all. This place was operating under the US military's dollar so we had it pretty nice compared to other orphans…nice being another relative term. It didn't even call it an orphanage. They called it a "group home" to be politically correct. It basically had all the essentials: food, clothes, shelter, and a warm bed. While it may have been comfortable, it certainly wasn't what you would call a cheerful environment. A lot of these kids were pretty damaged. Scott and I were in a league of our own._

_Before we even got used to the place, I encountered a major challenge that would plague me for the next decade or so. Once we moved in, my brother took it upon himself to baby me through this rough transition. It's like he became dad all of the sudden. He never left my side, always trying to fight my battles for me so that I wouldn't have to. That would have been great if I was still weak and feeble. In a ways I was, but what really got on my nerves was that he never gave me room to grow. When we started off, we were in this fight together and we couldn't have been closer. Over time, this unofficial family structure that Scott and only Scott imposed drove us apart._

_Years went by and it got easier at a painfully slow rate. Every so often, we would get some potential foster parents. We even stayed with a couple of families briefly, but being young and angry it wasn't easy calling someone else my parents. It was sort of my way of showing Scott and everybody around me that I was a fighter. I didn't need to be propped up because I was young and weak. I admit now that I was probably a little overly aggressive back then. It's not like I didn't have reason. I was nowhere near as disciplined as my big brother, but I could tell he was fuming just as much as I was. He never showed it even when he probably should have. Between the two of us, we were unadoptable._

_Those failed foster families really didn't bring me and Scott any closer. As I got older he got more obsessive. It was like he wanted to hold my hand through everything and not let me grow on my own. I called him out on this so many times and his response was never all that reasonable. Simply because he was older and he took it upon himself to look after me meant that somehow he had the authority. I didn't understand it and didn't care to. He also didn't let me return the favor. When he turned ten he started getting these headaches and from time to time, his eyes would flash red. I wasn't scared, but I was worried. Scott's standard response was to just brush it off, wearing sunglasses to cover them up. He would never talk about it with me. He didn't want to worry me. Except I'm his brother, I deserve to worry even if I was younger._

_When I wasn't clashing with Scott, I was clashing with pretty much everyone else. The people that ran the orphanage treated me like I was sick. They kept trying to counsel me and I always got so angry at them. I probably came off as a little brat to them, but they would probably react the same way if someone was always treating them like they were weak when you were fighting every day to be stronger. Something had to give and that's when fate threw me and Scott a wildcard._

Alex held up his hand and made a fist. As he did, a soft yellow glow engulfed his arm. The simmering power that resided within him was strong and destructive. It was a power that so richly defined him and the Summers family. They all had their share of strength and potential. Sometimes it manifested in different ways. Sometimes it was a strength while other times it was a burden. Whatever form it took, this power often dictated the course of their lives.

_In the span of a day, our tenure at the orphanage came to an end. I had just gotten through another lousy session with the staff psychologist. He kept trying to make me talk about my parents and wouldn't take no for an answer. When he started getting on my nerves, I lashed out. I tried to shove this man who was twice my size away from me. He then grabbed my arm and tried to hold me down. I wouldn't let him. I kept fighting back, hitting and scratching him as much as I could. Scott was outside with some doctors. When it got too rowdy, they came rushing in. One of them tried to stick me with a sedative. Scott, being the overprotective brother that he was, had a major overreaction and not in a way anybody could have anticipated._

_His eyes flashed bright red again. This time it didn't stop there. Just as they were about to inject me, he unleashed his first optic blast. It was a pretty destructive one too. He not only knocked the doctor and the staff away from me, he blew a huge hole in the building. It only stopped when the closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. Everybody around me was terrified, but I was curious. I knew in my gut something was up with his eyes and this proved it. Before I could make sense of it, Scott was rushed to the hospital and I went along with him._

_For once, the tables had turned. Now Scott couldn't protect me and I had to watch over him. It was a hell of a role reversal and while he'll never admit it, he needed me. When they took him to the hospital, the doctors kept trying to open his eyes again. I made sure they didn't. I told them what happened and when they didn't believe me, I pushed them back. It probably saved them and us from another damaging blast. While this was going on, the media really got worked up. It's not every day a destructive energy burst shoots out from an orphanage. Word quickly got out that it was a mutant incident and Scott was sure to be in some serious trouble._

_I wasn't afraid, but I was scared for Scott. He was really shaken. It was hard to tell with that stone-cold demeanor of his, but I could sense it. I never left his bedside while he was in the hospital. He was so confused and couldn't think beyond playing his role as the big confident brother. That was a big problem because I was taking in the situation and I overheard a lot of ominous conversations from the doctors. They did not like the idea of having a mutant in their hospital. There were also some cops lofting about, talking about whether or not they should bring Scott up on charges. You don't damage an orphanage without getting that kind of attention from the authorities. I sure as hell didn't like what that implied. Not only would it split me and Scott up, but it would turn us into criminals._

_We managed to get a lucky break. About a day or so Scott had recovered enough to get back on his feet. The cops were going to come in and take him away, but then this teenage kid snuck into the hospital and offered us a way out. This was a kid who used to live in the same orphanage we did and he had been through the same struggles. He knew that no good could come our way now that one of us was a mutant. He offered to help us escape. I accepted without hesitation. Scott was a lot more stubborn about it. He thought going to the cops would be better. I had to spend ten minutes arguing with him. He got so worked up his eyes flashed again and that essentially ended the debate. We had to leave._

_The kid helped us escape. By the end of that day it was official. We were living on the streets. I was ten. Scott was twelve. We were going to have to find a new way to survive. For me, it was a much tougher fight. But unlike Scott, I was read for it. I wasn't going to find my way at the orphanage. I felt in my gut that this would lead me down a better path._

Alex laughed to himself as his hand stopped glowing. It was strange how anyone who had to live on the streets could find humor in such a life. Most stories about life on the streets were full of despair and hardship. For many people that was probably true. He would be foolish to say that this life was somehow a step up from living in a stable environment, even if it was an orphanage. That wasn't what allowed him to smile about it. What really stuck out was how this life made him stronger. It was this life on the streets that made him the fighter he was today.

_After Scott and I escaped from the hospital, the guy who helped us introduced us to this little gang he belonged to. Now when I say gang I don't mean a pack of criminal deviants. I mean gang as in a group of like-minded outcasts who simply have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. There were a lot of young kids, but I was still one of the youngest. They heard about what happened with us and offered not only sympathy, but a place with them. Scott remained suspicious, but I went with my gut on this one. These were people I felt I could trust._

_What really stood out about these guys was they didn't give me therapy or anything. They gave me a chance to stand on my own two feet and I proved I could be strong. I impressed a lot of people, showing that I could fight without being foolish. When most kids fight they're just lashing out. I was different. I was a Summers. We have the uncanny ability to focus and channel our passions. We may not wear our emotions on our sleeves, but we know how to make them work for us. I certainly needed that with this gang of outcasts and runaways._

_I proved myself early on by helping some of the other go on food runs. While we may not be criminals, we did steal. But we only stole what we had to in order to survive. We didn't resort to drugs or trafficking or any of that shit. We all saw how those paths were losing battles in the long run. By steering clear of them, we stayed under the radar from the police and the civil authorities. I showed I could do my part, sneaking into grocery stores and raiding a few trucks. It was always quick and we provided for those who couldn't, making sure we never went hungry. Scott did his part too, but he still worried about me. To him, I was still his responsibility and he just wouldn't let it go._

_For the first few years, we did okay for ourselves. I actually thrived on this kind of life, always preparing for the next fight and always going the extra distance. For the first time since the plane crash, I felt I wasn't struggling. I felt like I was actually growing into my own person. I was still a kid, but I was a kid who found his own way. Also during this time, Scott did some growing and eventually took on a leadership role. The gang really looked up to him because he was so disciplined and he knew how to put together these elaborate yet efficient plans. He was the brains and I was the bronze. I don't think he embraced it as much as I did, but he did take on the responsibility. I think it also helped that he had firepower on his side._

_Since leaving the hospital, Scott slowly learned to use his mutant powers even if it was a bit crude sometimes. At first he did everything he could to suppress them. Then with some encouragement from the gang, he started practicing with it in junkyards and empty lots. He eventually was able to focus it in a useable weapon and it sure came in handy when we had to bust through crates or cause a diversion. Having that kind of power gained him even more respect and I admit I was a little jealous for a while. That jealousy wouldn't last long though. I soon found out I had some firepower of my own._

Alex clenched both his fists this time, focusing more energy and causing a bright halo of energy to form around his hands. It was invigorating and intense. He felt so in tuned with this power it was overwhelming at times. Whereas Scott saw his power as a burden, Alex had a real connection with his. Maybe it was because he didn't have to wear some goofy shades to control them, but this energy felt like a genuine part of his spirit. It certainly helped shape the young man he had become.

_I was twelve when it first manifested. Scott led us onto the docks where some fresh crates of clothes were coming in. We needed to stock up because winter was just around the corner. We ran our usual divide and conquer strategy. A couple of the kids would get the dock workers' attention by fooling around near their gear. They would then get chased to the other side of the dock, giving us time to unload the goods. It all went according to plan at first. Once Scott blew a hole into the crate, I let the others in so we could sift through the merchandise. It all went smoothly at first. Then we got a little sloppy._

_While we were trying to pull down a stack of boxes, this kid tried to reach too high and ended up causing the stack to come tumbling down. It covered both him and me under a heavy pile of heavy gear that left us trapped and way too vulnerable for comfort. If that weren't enough, it got the attention of a few other dock workers. Scott instinctively ordered everyone to run their escape plan. Pretty much everybody did, but some stuck around to help us get out. It was not a pleasant feeling. The kid next to me was freaking out and crying. I kept fighting and pushing, telling him to not give in. I told Scott to just blast the junk away. He refused. He said it was too dangerous. I told him we had to risk it, but he wouldn't. Scott's just too damn stubborn. If I was going to get out of that mess, I was going to have to do it myself._

_That's when it happened. While I was pushing as hard as I could against the pile above me, my hands started burning. It felt like I just dipped them into hot lava or something because it was really excruciating. I thought I had broken a bone or something, but then I looked down and saw that my hands were glowing. They were glowing in a way similar to how Scott's eyes glowed when he used his powers. When I realized this, instinct took over. _

_I told Scott and everyone to stand back and the next thing I know, I fire this powerful energy burst straight upwards and blow a hole through the debris. This freed me and the kid while shocking the hell out of Scott and the others. It was a good thing we didn't have time to be shocked because those dock workers were already coming back. So we high tailed it out of there before they could get the jump on us. We didn't get a whole lot of merchandise, but I came out of there with something far more valuable. Now I had a new kind of strength. I had firepower that could carry me through much tougher fights. I didn't feel scared or confused or anything like that. I felt strong on an entirely new level._

_This ended the jealousy between me and Scott about powers, but it started a new rift. Suddenly, he wasn't the only one with exotic talents. Now I garnered respect from others and I could bring more to the table with my abilities than planning and leadership. I could thrust myself into a fight knowing I had an edge. I wasn't afraid to use that edge either, but I always stayed within my limits. I wasn't a killer or a monster. I was a fighter and I was determined to stay that way. Scott still didn't like what I was becoming. He wouldn't even teach me how to use my powers. He encouraged me to limit their use just like he had been doing. That may have worked for him. It wasn't going to cut it for me._

_Our rift became a rivalry. Scott was still the leader, but I was the one people got behind when we went into action. One time we were raided by this crack gang looking to expand their territory. Scott encouraged us to flee so we wouldn't get caught up in a gang war. I decided to stand and fight. A few even got behind me. That way when I confronted the gang and showed them a little firepower, they got the message loud and clear. They were not going to mess with us. It was the first time I really got a taste for the kind of leadership Scott had a monopoly on. I still had some catching up to do, but after a year of refining my powers and my skills I had to work overtime._

_In the span of a single night, my brother and I finally started walking separate paths. There was this incident behind a grocery truck where Scott accidentally blasted this guy coming at us with a shotgun. He blasted him so hard the guy died. None of us had ever taken a life before. None of us ever wanted to. I don't blame Scott for being really messed up about it, but he really let it consume him. He unofficially stepped down from his duties and started covering his eyes for every waking hour, vowing never to use his powers again. This really hurt the gang because we needed leadership. Since he was stepping aside, I stepped up. I was no longer the vulnerable youngster that followed his older brother's lead. I was a kid who could hold his own and lead by example. At age 13 I basically skipped ahead a few years in maturity right then and there._

_Shortly after this all went down, a guy named Charles Xavier entered the picture. He came to Scott offering him a chance to re-learn how to use his powers. He also offered him a chance at a new home in a fancy school where he could get all the education we had missed over the years. It was a pretty sweet deal. I don't blame Scott for taking it, but he wanted me to come with him. It was tempting, but it meant leaving the gang behind. I couldn't do that. I was responsible for them now. They looked up to me and relied on me. I told Scott plainly I wasn't going to just up and abandoned this life. Scott's argument was that this wasn't a life. It was a dead end. _

_As soon as he said that, we spent the next ten minutes just yelling at each other. We started pushing and shoving. I almost decked him. He went on and on about how I was his responsibility and that we were a family. To me that was an excuse and not a reason. We kept going back and forth until it finally happened. Scott made his decision and I made mine. He left and I stayed. It wasn't on good terms to say the very least. That would be the last time my brother was a major part of my life._

Alex sighed bitterly as he stood up. Over the years he and Scott shared many heated arguments. None were ever as heated as that shouting match that sent him to the X-men and left him with the gang. It became painfully clear afterwards that they would never be a real family again. The loss of their parents and the lives they lived made it all but impossible.

That didn't mean it was easy. Scott was still his brother. They were still family whether they liked it or not. There was always going to be some love between them, but that love was vastly overwhelmed by anger and bitterness. They had both made so many mistakes with each other. Alex wasn't arrogant enough to believe he was completely without fault. For a time, it looked like Scott had made the right decision. Even if that was true, Alex still ended up stronger in many ways.

_Once Scott was gone, the gang continued. I picked up the mantel and ran with it. I did things Scott never attempted like recruit more disadvantaged kids like us and train everybody to be a bit more self-sufficient. We could no longer just keep running away from obstacles when they sought us out. We had to be able to fight back so we weren't pushed further to the brink._

_For the next two years, we had what we all called a happy time. We started staying in nicer areas and we stockpiled more supplies to make live just a little more bearable. We were all like a big family. We fought together and we looked out for one another. I really developed myself as a leader during that time. I took some of the lessons from Scott and made them into my own style. I didn't just get people to fear and respect me. I got people to trust and care about me. I didn't take it. I earned it. That's how real fighters operate. With every drop of sweat and every bloody wound, you earn what you strive for. So long as you stay focused, the fight unfolds as it should. It's a simple facet of life._

_While these times were good, they came at greater risks. By fighting more, we made ourselves bigger targets. I thought we could stay a step ahead of the authorities and any rivals that got in our way. We eventually discovered that luck wasn't on our side because in just a few short days, the gang came crashing down._

_It wasn't entirely are fault either. We set up shop in this local projects building in Jersey City that we thought was safe. We had stayed there before and without any incident. This time it would be different. For whatever reason, this fugitive drug runner from Miami was trying to get to New York City with a big bag of cocaine. His original ride got busted back in Florida and he had been basically clawing hitch-hiking his way up north. Every step of the way, he brought trouble with him. The same authorities that busted his ride were trying to bust him. Of all the projects he could have stayed at in the city, he chose ours. I swear if I ever meet this guy again, I'll separate his jaw from his skull._

_We were all just hanging out near the top floor, sleeping and playing cards like we usually did. We had no idea the freakin' DEA and ATF were surrounding the building just to catch this one guy. At around midnight they came storming in, guns blazing with SWAT gear and all. They guy tried to get away and ended up passing through our den in the process. Before any of us knew what was going on, the whole place was raided and the gang was surrounded._

_This was a fight that was essentially doomed. I only got off a few blasts before I saw just how much heat these guys were packing. By the time they surrounded us, everyone around me had given up. Most didn't even try to fight. I managed to resist a bit longer, but it still ended the same. Once the DEA had their guy, they called in the local police and social services. One-by-one, they rounded us up and hauled us off. It was a pretty low point for all of us. Most of those guys I never saw again. For all I know some of them are dead. Since I was the leader, they made sure I got sent somewhere a little rougher. Thus began my stint in New York State Juvenile Hall._

Alex laughed again. This was another instance of what should have been a dark moment in his life turning into an opportunity. What did it say about him when otherwise dead-end paths like street life and juvenile hall helped make him stronger in a new way? Was he a deviant by nature? Or did he just thrive on overcoming the darker aspects of these gritty worlds? It was nice he could laugh about it now because like his time with the street gang his time in Juvenile Hall could have turned out very bad for him.

_I was fifteen years old and once again on my own. The courts along with social services declared that since I hadn't committed any major crimes other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I wouldn't face any charges. However, I did have to enter into this special youth program as they called it. It was kind of like a boarding school and a prison. This is where a lot of runaways and other kids who hadn't committed serious enough crimes to go to jail lived when they had nowhere else to go. I didn't look forward to it and I was tempted to bust out at first. But seeing as how the gang was gone, I probably wouldn't have lasted very long so I sucked it up and went along with it._

_It was kind of bland at first. I basically stayed in this tiny dorm not much bigger than the one at the orphanage. Most of my days centered around attending group therapy and going to the special school program they had going on. I hadn't gotten much of an education from the orphanage or the streets so I had a lot of catching up to do. I could barely read and do basic math. I didn't care a whole lot for it at first, but I did care about not being stupid. So I fought my way through it and I did okay for myself._

_While I was adapting to this new life, I made it a point not to use my powers unless I had to. I had a feeling that if they knew I was a mutant, then they would look for a reason to throw me in jail. Mutants were starting to get a little controversial at this time. There was always some crazy story running on TV about some mutant going berserk that the authorities had to 'contain' as they called it. I knew that containment probably meant something that didn't involve basic schooling, a decent bed, and a limited amount of freedom. So I wasn't going to screw it up._

_While I was finding my way at this place, I was also making new friends. That same leadership and charisma I developed with the gang worked just as well here. I connected with a number of other runaways and deviants who had it rough. I told them about what I had been through and what I had done and wouldn't you know it? I earned their respect. That respect meant that we helped each other during the rougher times that came with being in Juvenile Hall. Whenever we got a pass to head out into the city, I would lead them and we would have all sorts of fun. We would see the sights, pick up some girls, and just hang out._

_This was really big for me because for once it made me feel like a normal kid. It showed to me that I didn't always have to be this stray that had to claw his way forward in order to survive. I could function and interact with people. I could gain their respect and for all the right reasons. It made me stronger and smarter in ways I really needed at that time. I couldn't last very long just being this thug who fought all the time. I had to be a little more strategic like Scott. This all worked out pretty nicely for three years. By the time I was 18 I had caught up with my school work and I had a pretty solid circle of friends. But like the gang, I knew it couldn't last. This time I wasn't all that surprised when it came crashing down._

_My status as a mutant was what did me in. I couldn't hide my secret forever. It was going to come out sooner or later. Not a whole lot of people in Juvenile Hall had positive views of mutants. They were just as ignorant and fearful as every other law biding citizen on the planet at that point. So when they did find out, all that respect I earned took a major hit. It also didn't help that they found out during a pretty fucked up incident in downtown New York._

_We were out on a day pass from the center and passing through Brooklyn. Along the way these thuggish looking school kids challenged us to a basketball game. Being the fighter I am, I accepted and the others followed me. It was a close match and we held our own. We were on the final point when I had the ball and this guy just up and fouled me. He wasn't very subtle about it either. He literally head-butted me when I was about to make a shot. Once I was stunned, he took the ball and scored the winning point. Needless to say, I was not pleased and I was not going to walk away either._

_I walked up to this guy, who was at least six inches taller than me. We got to pushing and shoving. Pretty soon his friends and my friends gathered around, looking to see a fight break out. This guy seriously had issues because when I made it clear that he didn't scare me, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a knife. This was a game changer and my friends knew it. Some of them encouraged me to back off because this was getting dangerous. I refused, even though I could tell that this guy was willing to use it. I warned him several times. I told him he would pay the price if he came at me. He didn't listen._

_He went right for my face. I didn't let him get even halfway. On an instinct, I used my powers and blasted the guy halfway across the basketball court. This shocked both him and my friends. Now that I look back on it, that probably wasn't the smartest way to end this fight. It turned what was just a tense situation into a disaster. Suddenly, my friends were looking at me like I was a monster and the thugs got pretty worried. They started screaming "Mutant! He's a mutant!" and in the middle of a big city, someone was going to take notice._

_My friends basically left me out to dry. They didn't stick by me this time when the cops started coming my way. I told them we could get away if they just helped me. They didn't do shit. It was not a pleasant feeling, being betrayed by the people you trusted. I should have been used to it at that point, but it still pissed me off. With nobody watching my back, I once again found myself in a fight I couldn't win. Seeing as how I couldn't go back to Juvie or rely on my friends, I had to resort to my least favorite tactic…running._

_With cops already taking notice, I blew a hole through a gate and ran away from my friends, those thugs, and my old life. I didn't have any direction in mind. The plan was just to run until I couldn't hear the yelling and the sirens anymore. It took me quite a while. By the time I did get away, I was not in good shape. I had nothing but the clothes on my back and I was wanted by the authorities. I even saw my picture blared on the evening news. For a while I was actually tempted to call up Scott and see if he could get me out of here. That would be the equivalent of waving the white flag and admitting defeat. I wanted that to be a last resort and I came way too close to using it._

_For a few days I waited for the heat to die down. I stole this hooded jacket and tried finding another place to hold up. Eventually, I found myself in this weird part of New York City that people seemed to avoid for some reason. I soon found out that I had entered District X. That's where I met Lucas Bishop and Tessa. That's also where I went from being a fighter who happened to have mutant powers to a mutant who happened to be damn good at fighting._

Alex took a step closer to the edge of the roof so he could look down towards the busy streets below. The capital city of Genosha was by far the busiest part of the island. This was where most of the mutants congregated, going about their new lives and not showing any reservations about using their powers. It was like a much bigger version of District X. A place where a mutant could be a mutant was something that really didn't resonate with him until he experienced first hand how much regular humans hated and feared them. Even the friends he thought he had simply turned their back on him once they found out he was different. That put humanity in a very different light while allowing him to relate to mutants in a very different way.

"My new gang," Alex said to himself, "It's not just a whole island either. It's a whole freakin' species."

_I couldn't help but be a little thrilled. I never got a chance to really embrace my powers when I was with the gang and I had to completely suppress them when I was in Juvenile Hall. In District X I had the best of all worlds. I could be a mutant and be Alex Summers._

_I arrived at a time when District X was going through a bit of a boon. This little mutant community had been one of those unspoken parts of New York City for years, but it was only recently that it gained a sense of community. Most of the mutants who lived there were just your normal, hard-working mutants who wanted a safe place to stay. A lot of them were outcasts like me and couldn't fight for themselves. When I showed Bishop and Tessa what I was capable of, they put me on this neighborhood watch crew with Jamie Madrox and Jubilee. They were even nice enough to work out a deal with the authorities to get me out of Juvie. How Tessa managed that is beyond me, but I could care less how she did it. What mattered was I had a new home and a new identity. It seemed like the perfect place for me…or so I thought._

_I spent about a year in that community and I earned myself a pretty solid reputation. Whenever someone was looking to make trouble, human or mutant, I would be the first on the scene to confront it. I wasn't very subtle about it either. If a guy wanted a fight, I gave it to them. That didn't always go over well with Madrox and Bishop, but it worked and others soon took notice._

_My role as an enforcer wasn't enough in District X. I still had the desire to lead and inspire just as I had done with the gang and in Juvie. When I wasn't fighting, I was talking to the other mutants of District X and learning their stories. A lot of them had it rough no matter where they came from. Being a mutant is like a death blow to your social life. No matter where you were from, regardless of what class you were in or what kind of community you were born into, once you were discovered to be a mutant your life was over. I didn't think that was right. Hell, I knew it wasn't right. District X was just one of the very few options these mutants had and if that weren't bad enough, there were those who wanted to take it away from us._

_This is where I started overstepping the boundaries Bishop and Tessa laid out for me. I was to keep the peace, not encourage others to fight back. But that's what happened. It wasn't really something I could control. Others saw how I fought and they wanted to follow me. I can't say I blamed them either because a lot of these mutants were in the same boat I was. They were outcasts who had been oppressed all their lives and they wanted to fight back. I just inspired them._

_I got plenty of lectures from Bishop and there were a few times Madrox wanted to strangle me. Problem was, they couldn't just cut me loose because I was so good at my job. There were a number of times these anti-mutant protests broke within our boarders and I was sent there to help keep them at bay. I lost track of how many times some overzealous mutant-hating asshole tried to do pick a fight. I was always there to end it and not very subtlety either. That didn't always make for good PR, but it kept District X safe. Then the whole Bastion mess happened along with an impromptu family reunion._

Alex's demeanor soured once more. No matter what he did, sooner or later his path was going to cross with Scott's again. It was never a matter of if it was going to happen. It was only a matter of how messed up it would be when it finally went down.

"Damn you, Scott," he said into the night, "I can escape a rough life, but I can't escape family. It's not fair!"

It didn't matter if Scott couldn't hear him. It didn't even matter if saying it out loud made him sound crazy. This was how he felt. This went to the very heart of the conflict that brought him here to Genosha.

_I got way too arrogant for my own good. I walked right into the trap set by the Friends of Humanity. Those assholes played on the emotions of everybody I inspired. I should have suspected something was amiss. I should have made a plan. It wasn't going to pan out either way. Bastion was going to leave his mark on District X and the responsibility fell on my shoulders._

_If that wasn't bad enough, the X-men got involved. Somehow they knew something was going down and they didn't see fit to fill is us in before it went bad. It was the first time Scott and I had stood face-to-face in years. He really made something of himself with the X-men. He was a confident leader with better control over his powers and a hot girlfriend to boot. He and the X-men were the heroes that day. They defeated Bastion, saved District X, and exposed the Friends of Humanity's plot. They came to the table with all the right tools to win the fight. Once it was over, I was the guy who had to shoulder the blame._

_It was a case study in bullshit. I didn't have a fancy school, a supersonic jet, and two powerful psychics guiding me. I had my bear hands and a bunch of inspired mutants ready to take on thugs like the Friends of Humanity. I lost the fight before it even began. Not only that, my own brother upstaged me. He and the X-men could have worked with us. They could have stood by us as we confronted the Friends of Humanity. But no…they had to swoop in just as Bastion was going nuclear. It's like they were better than us when on the most basic level, they're really no different than anyone in District X. They're a bunch of mutants. They say they're making a difference, but all they're doing is setting themselves apart from the rest of us. Not every mutant is fit to be a costumed hero. They may make it so the X-men are beloved. That still won't do squat for the rest of our kind._

_My brother still thinks I'm a selfish little punk. But would a selfish punk take responsibility for all of District X and turn himself into the police? Would any of the X-men ever make that kind of sacrifice? Hell no! It would clash too much with their hero image. I'm willing to make that sacrifice for the mutants of the world. They're my crew now. I look out for them and they look out for me. Even if it means being the odd man out, I'm willing to do what's necessary._

_I was ready and willing to rot in that jail cell for as long as I had to. So long as it meant District X stayed safe, I could care less if Bishop, Madrox, Tessa, and Jubilee kicked me out of the neighborhood watch. I could care an even less what Scott and the X-men thought of my stunt. I could see it in their eyes that they thought I was just another troubled youth who happened to be a mutant. I was the kind of guy they fought against. Hell, I'm okay with that. I won't lose any sleep over being on their shit list._

_Jail would have still sucked. There's no doubt about it. But once again, a bad situation turned into an opportunity. It's good thing the mess in District X made the news because it probably never would have caught Magneto's attention. I guess to him, a kid who could lead an entire mutant community against the Friends of Humanity was fit to lead his Brotherhood of Mutants. He was willing to give me a chance when everyone else including my own brother had written me off as a lost cause. This time, I'm not going to take that chance for granted._

_Now I can fight my battles on a much larger stage. Like the X-men, I can fight for my entire species. We've been under attack for too long. We can't just stand back and take it. We have to stand and fight! That's what we're doing here on Genosha. That's what Magneto's doing with the Brotherhood. I'm proud to be part of it and I'm not going to take my responsibilities lightly. There are a lot good things for me here on this island and I'm going to fight to hold onto them. That's all there is to it._

Alex's demeanor remained stern and stoic. Gazing out over Genosha, he saw a manifestation of everything he was fighting for. He wasn't a kid anymore. He was the leader of the Brotherhood and a soldier on the front lines of the human/mutant conflict. It was a cause that put him at odds with his brother and pretty much the entire human world, but that didn't matter to him. It was still a cause worth fighting for.

"I swear I'll keep fighting," he said under his breath.

"Fighting for what, Alex?"

The younger Summers brother was jolted from his daze by an unexpected voice. He shot around, ready to jump into another fight if he had to. That proved not to be the case since the voice came from one of the few people in this world that didn't test his nerves.

"Lorna?" said Alex, now feeling a bit awkward in her presence, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said as she walked up to him, "Isn't it usually cause for concern when someone is standing on the roof at midnight staring off into space?"

"Well when you put it like that, you make it sound like I'm going to jump or something."

"You're the leader of the Brotherhood. I imagine it causes all sorts of stress," she said sheepishly, "Sorry if I was assuming too much."

"Don't apologize. I can't say I blame you, but there's no need to worry. I'm used to dealing with stress." said Alex with a half-smile, "That's kind of why I'm up here. I cope with that stress by taking a moment every now and spending it somewhere quiet where I can collect my thoughts and talk to myself if I have to."

"Really? Does it work?"

"I haven't jumped yet, have I? It works pretty damn well. If you don't believe me, try it out. It might work for you too."

Lorna smiled awkwardly, still showing a fair amount of shyness around Alex. She didn't really know him that well and he did come off as somewhat hostile. That was to be expected from someone who had been in a jail cell not long ago. But she showed no fear around him. If anything, she seemed remarkably comfortable near him. Alex certainly didn't mind her presence. A fellow mutant with her share of issues was more than welcome. It also helped that she was a pretty girl.

Alex smiled back and let her join him near the edge. It seemed she was in need of some stress relief as well. Whatever reason she had for being up this late really wasn't a concern for him. He let her stand with him and gaze out over the landscape of Genosha. It made for a peaceful moment in what was still an unfolding struggle. He made his fair share of mistakes to get to this point. He was probably going to make more with this new cause. Beyond the cause itself, Alex Summers was still a fighter and there were an ever growing number of reasons for him to keep on fighting.

* * *

**The End**

**AN: Another era of X-men Supreme Reflections has ended and the final pages of X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope can finally be laid to rest. It has been a lot of fun writing this era of X-men Supreme. But now the time has come for the next phase in this fanfiction series to unfold. I'm already hard at work laying the foundation for X-men Supreme Volume 4, but before it begins I have another special one-shot planned! I'm approaching this as a bridge between volumes. Marvel uses their .1 initiative to help get fans acclimated into their books. I intend to do the same with this one-shot. For more details, please check out my website. And if ever anyone has any feedback or comments, I'm always open to listen. You can either post them on this site or contact me directly. I just want to take the time to thank everyone who has provided feedback and supported X-men Supreme. At a time when reviews seems to be slipping, I can't tell you how much that means to me! There is plenty more to come with X-men Supreme so I hope you all enjoy it! Until next time, take care and best wishes.**

**MarvelMaster616**


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